Ville en tête

What Ville en tête does

Ville en tête is a Lausanne-based non-profit association founded in 2015 that operates in the niche of cultural mediation applied to the built environment. It designs and delivers workshops, guided tours, school programs, and public-facing formats that make urban planning, architecture, and contemporary cultural debates legible to non-specialist audiences, with documented reach of 80+ projects and over 20,000 participants since inception. Its delivery model relies on a network of 25+ trained cultural mediators, anchored by a 12-person core team following a 2024 organizational restructuring that separated governance from operations and stood up a dedicated projects team.

Its core products include the ateliers urbains (urban workshops for school and public audiences, priced CHF 240-300), the Youth Makes Art Makes Cities / Dialogues urbains workshop series developed with EPFL and HEP Vaud, the Territoire toxique program on eco-anxiety, and a new Cité idéale program extending operations to Canton de Fribourg. Distribution is built around institutional partnerships: Vaud public schools, Plateforme 10 museums (mudac, Photo Elysée, MCBA), the Canton de Vaud, the Canton de Fribourg, Pro Helvetia (with a Swiss Pavilion proposal submitted for Venice Biennale 2027), and academic partners.

The business model is that of a Swiss non-profit association: the primary inflows are public grants from municipal, cantonal, and federal sources, supplemented by individual memberships (CHF 30/year), tiered donations (CHF 100 / CHF 250), workshop and guided-tour fees (CHF 240-300), and professional training revenues. The organization was recognized with the Prix Vaudois pour la culture in 2021 and is positioned as a cultural reference in the canton.

Name

Ville en tête

Legal name

Ville en tête

Website

https://ville-en-tete.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ville en tête is a Lausanne-based non-profit founded in 2015 that delivers cultural-mediation programs on the built environment to schools, public audiences, and cultural institutions across French-speaking Switzerland, primarily via grant-funded projects and a 25+ mediator network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Architecture & Urban Planning Education

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Arts, Culture & Creative Placemaking Enterprises (BPAGALAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

Keywords

• Cultural mediation services
• Built environment education
• Architectural awareness programs
• Urban planning workshops
• School educational programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding and grants: Core funding from municipal (Ville de Lausanne, Ville de Renens), cantonal (Canton de Vaud, Canton de Fribourg), and federal sources (Office Fédéral de la Culture, Pro Helvetia, FNS). Animations for schools are fully funded by public bodies.
2. Membership fees: Annual membership at 30 CHF per year. Members support the association and receive invitations to general assemblies.
3. Donations: One-time or regular donations at various levels (100 CHF, 250 CHF, or higher) with membership benefits and merchandise rewards.
4. Workshop fees: Standard workshops for external clients at 240 CHF (1h) or 300 CHF (1h30). Custom workshops available for private or public actors.
5. Guided tour fees: Architectural visits priced at 240 CHF (1h-1h15) or 300 CHF (1h30-2h) for private bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Ville en tête designs and delivers cultural mediation projects to raise awareness of built environment culture among children, youth, families, and professionals. The association offers classroom educational interventions (Animations en classe) for primary and secondary school classes, guided architectural tours (Visites guidées), ready-made workshops (Ateliers), and customized professional training (Formations) on architecture, urban planning, and sustainable development themes. Activities are delivered by a network of 25+ trained mediators across the cantons of Vaud and Fribourg in Switzerland.

Product overview

Ville en tête is a non-profit cultural mediation association offering educational programs, workshops, guided visits, and professional training focused on built environment awareness. The core offerings include 'Animations en classe' (classroom educational interventions), 'Visites guidées' (architectural tours), 'Ateliers' (ready-made workshops), and 'Formations' (professional training). The organization runs flagship participatory projects including 'Pousses Urbaines' (Lausanne childhood delegation), 'Cité idéale' (Fribourg schools), 'Youth Makes Art Makes Cities', and 'Habitats rêvés'. The service portfolio also includes transdisciplinary academic workshops like 'Dialogues urbains' with EPFL/HEP Vaud. All offerings aim to sensitize children, youth, and adults to architecture, urban planning, and sustainable built culture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Animations en classe Educational interventions for school classes from 1P to 9S and welcome classes, developed to raise children's awareness about the built environment. Each animation includes 2-4 modules of 1-2 periods each, combining classroom work, city visits, and exercises aligned with the school curriculum and EDD objectives.
• Visites guidées (Guided tours) Guided tours of buildings and urban areas in the Lausanne region, including Plateforme 10 museum district, iconic buildings (Cèdres, Vaudoise, Bellerive pool, Vidy theater, Saint-François church), and riverside walks along the Flon valley. Priced at 240 CHF (1h-1h15) or 300 CHF (1h30-2h).
• Ateliers (Workshops) Ready-made workshops for various audiences covering built culture themes. Includes 'ça coule ou ça roule?' (public space materials), role-playing games for sustainable public spaces, and 'Mission égalité: construis ta récré de rêve!' (inclusive playground design). Priced at 240 CHF (1h) or 300 CHF (1h30) for standard workshops.
• Formations (Professional training) Professional training programs on built culture, cultural mediation, and sustainability. Formats adapt to client needs including workshops, single interventions, seminars, or weekly courses for private or public actors.
• Pousses Urbaines Flagship project of the Childhood Delegation of Lausanne, led jointly with Tribu Architecture and Plates-Bandes communication, focused on giving children and youth a voice in urban planning decisions.
• Cité idéale Collaborative project for classes 5H-8H in Fribourg canton where students explore sustainable development and built environment themes to imagine their ideal city, culminating in model-making and a festive exhibition event.
• Dialogues urbains : durabilité et médiation Transdisciplinary workshop reuniting EPFL and HEP Vaud students around sustainable city themes, cultural mediation, and project-based pedagogy within the ENAC week format. Students design and lead mediation workshops for secondary school classes.
• A hauteur d'enfants (Family exploratory walks) Family exploratory walks to discover the UNIL campus and the Chamberonne river area, developed in partnership with EPFL's Urban Sociology Laboratory to give children and families a voice in campus planning.
• Riponne-Tunnel (Participatory urban planning project) Participatory process (2018-2019) led for Lausanne's urban planning service to guide the redesign of Riponne and Tunnel squares. Ville en tête conducted exploratory workshops with primary and gymnasium students whose results informed the urban design competition brief.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 20,000+ people through educational activities
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

28 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Ville de LausannecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary municipal partner providing funding for school animations in Lausanne. Collaborates on various projects including Pousses Urbaines and other cultural initiatives.
• Canton de VaudcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey institutional partner funding school programs (7-8P, 9S) through Plateforme 10. Supports various educational initiatives.
• Canton de FribourgcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Cité idéale project, supporting sustainable development education in schools. Funded through DIME, DSAS, and educational services.
• EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on ENAC Week workshops bringing together architecture, environmental sciences, and civil engineering students. Partners with CEL laboratory and science promotion service.
• HEP Vaud (Haute école pédagogique du canton de Vaud)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partnership for transdisciplinary workshops, integrating pedagogy students into urban sustainability and cultural mediation projects.
• Plateforme 10coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the cultural district housing MCBA, mudac, and Photo Elysée museums for architectural visits and educational programs.
• SATW (Académie suisse des sciences techniques)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Dialogues urbains workshop bringing together technical sciences and cultural mediation.
• FSAP / BSLA (Fédération Suisse des Architectes Paysagistes)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional association of landscape architects partnering on workshops and educational initiatives.
• MCBA (Musée cantonal des Beaux-Arts)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partner for architectural visits and cultural mediation activities at Plateforme 10.
• mudac (Musée de design et d'arts appliqués contemporains)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partner for Solar Biennale workshops and architectural visits.
• Photo ElyséesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMuseum partner for architectural visits and photography-focused workshops.
• Fondation Sotto VocesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoundation supporting educational and cultural projects, partner in Youth Makes Art Makes Cities and Habitats rêvés.
• Lausanne RégionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional development organization supporting territorial projects.
• Musée Historique LausannesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for 'Territoire toxique' workshop on Lausanne's history through waste, part of Toxic scientific mediation project.
• F'AR (Forum d'architectures Lausanne)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture forum partner for photography workshops and exhibition-related activities.
• IGAF (Association suisse des photographes d'architecture)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss association of architectural photographers collaborating on urban photography workshops.
• Laboratoire de Sociologie Urbaine (LaSUR) EPFLcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEPFL research laboratory on urban sociology, collaborating on Public schoolyards research and Youth Makes Art Makes Cities.
• UNIL (Université de Lausanne)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for family exploratory walks around the Chamberonne river on UNIL campus.
• Collectif AffluentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerArt collective invited Ville en tête to propose activities around the 'Où est la rivière' exhibition on the Flon river.
• urbzsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollective co-mandated with Ville en tête to pilot the Riponne-Tunnel participatory process.
• SWB Romandie (Société Suisse des Beaux-Arts)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssociation of art and architecture professionals partnering on 'Faire le mur' urban experiences in Morges.
• SIA ValaissupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss Society of Engineers and Architects, Valais section, partnering on mountain architecture workshops.
• Théâtre de VidysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTheater partner for Habitats rêvés performance and architectural visits to the renovated venue.
• Ville de RenenssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner funding school animations in Renens.
• Ville de NyonsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerMunicipal partner commissioning Le quartier durable project for sustainable urban planning awareness.
• Education 21supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCantonal conference for education on sustainable development, collaborating on 'Un espace pour toutes et tous' pedagogical resource.
• Espace des inventionssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerScience discovery center in Vallée de la Jeunesse, partner in various educational activities.
• Musée Olympique de LausannesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerOlympic museum partner for Urban Playground workshop on public space through physical activity.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Architecture Foundation: London-based charity running public programs, education initiatives, and residencies that connect architecture with wider audiences. Highly comparable as a non-profit cultural mediator focused on architecture and urbanism engagement.
• urbz: Collective focused on participatory urban planning and community-led development across multiple cities. Comparable in participatory urban planning approach and commitment to bottom-up engagement; the two organizations have already co-led processes such as the Riponne-Tunnel pilot.
• F'AR (Forum d'architectures Lausanne): Lausanne-based architecture forum promoting architectural culture through exhibitions, visits, and public events. Highly comparable as a regional built environment mediation actor serving overlapping audiences; the two organizations already partner programmatically.
• Fondation Braillard: Geneva-based foundation supporting architectural research, culture, and education. Comparable as a Swiss Romandie foundation advancing built culture and architectural awareness, with overlapping institutional and funder networks.

Broad incumbents

• Cité de l'architecture et du patrimoine: Paris national institution preserving and presenting French architectural heritage through exhibitions, education, and public programs. Comparable in built environment education mandate, though at significantly larger scale and with permanent museum infrastructure.
• Pavillon de l'Arsenal: Paris center for architecture and urbanism providing exhibitions, publications, and public programs about Greater Paris. Comparable in mission - raising public awareness of architecture and urban planning - though operating as a municipally-funded institution at significantly larger scale.
• Schweizerisches Architekturmuseum (SAM): Basel-based architecture museum with exhibitions and educational programs on Swiss and international architecture. Comparable in built culture mediation mission and Swiss context, though operating as a traditional museum rather than outreach association.
• arc en rêve centre d'architecture: Bordeaux-based architecture center running exhibitions, workshops, and educational programs on built environment and urbanism. Comparable as an established institutional architecture-mediation organization, but at larger scale and longer operating history.
• Architekturzentrum Wien (Az W): Vienna's architecture center running exhibitions, workshops, and educational programming on built environment and urbanism. Comparable in built environment mediation scope and educational programming for schools and general public, though operating at city-scale.

Emerging players

• Collectif Affluent: Lausanne-based art collective working on urban themes and public-space interventions. Comparable in cultural-mediator role bridging art and urbanism in the Lausanne region; an active Ville en tête partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/villeentete
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ville-en-t%C3%AAte
• Instagraminstagram.com/ville_en_tete

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ville en tête