La Crocodile, Sculpture in Lausanne, Switzerland

La Crocodile is a large sculpture in Lausanne, Switzerland, made of flat metal panels painted dark green. It has a long rectangular body with a slightly raised top edge and five flat circular discs underneath that look like wheels, resting on light gravel beside a paved strip.

La Crocodile was created by artists Olivier Mosset and Xavier Veilhan after they won a competition in 2017 for an artwork on the Plateforme 10 site. It was installed as the museum complex opened in stages, and it remains there today.

The name comes from the nickname given to a Swiss locomotive because of its long shape, and the sculpture borrows that familiar image. People often stop to take photos or simply sit nearby, as the work has become a meeting point in the museum district.

The sculpture sits on open ground at Plateforme 10, so you can walk around it freely and see it from different angles. It is close to the train station and other museums, making it an easy stop during a walk through the area.

The sculpture is not fixed to the ground, so it was designed to be moved around the site as construction progressed. Its shape simplifies the original locomotive, keeping only the general proportions and the wheel-like discs.