Courtesy of HASSELL

HASSELL, an international design practice, was recently awarded for their entry in both categories of the international Public Realm competition for CERN in Geneva. The competition entry, which was produced by the London studio of HASSELL, was the sole UK based design practice to be recognized with an award. The open international competition, run by the Canton of Geneva, was launched in May 2011. More images and architects’ description after the break. read more »

© Régis Golay, FEDERAL STUDIO

Architects: group8
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Project Area: 14,000 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2011
Photographs: Régis Golay, FEDERAL STUDIO

read more »

© Régis Golay, FEDERAL STUDIO

Architects: group8
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Client: International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Project Area: 11,500 sqm
Project Year: 2008-2011
Photographs: Régis Golay, FEDERAL STUDIO

read more »

Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret relaxing on the Shukna Lake on a pedal boat manufactured by Pierre Jeanneret, c. 1950. Photo by Sureh Sharma.

GENEVA–Galerie Anton Meier inaugurated the first exhibition in Switzerland devoted to the work  Pierre Jeanneret on September 20 at the Palais de l’Athénée. The exhibition, “The Chandigarh Project,” features a selection of furniture created for the Chandigarh capital complex on the border of Punjab and Haryana states in India. Intended to offer the public “clearer public insight into the humanistic work of Pierre Jeanneret, often overshadowed by his illustrious cousin, the show features pieces handcrafted on site for the new capital presented with “rare street furniture” as well as Le Corbusier’s symbols and prints. Highlights include teak tables, cane chairs, wooden armchairs, an a cast iron manhole cover with a recessed reproduction of the Chandigarh master plan as drawn by Le Corbusier in 1951. The exhibition comes after a scandal that erupted in 2010 when UBS decided to pull an ad featuring Corbusier. Debates continue involving the provenance of Chandigarh artifacts such as these, as dealers continue to buy items from Indian officials to resell abroad.

More information and photos after the break.

read more »

© Jean-Michel Landecy

Architects: meier + associés architectes
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Project Year: 2006
Collaborators: S Braun, M de Dompierre, I Iussi, M Jaques, AI Pepermans, M Perret
Project Area: 5,070 sqm
Photographs: Jean-Michel Landecy

read more »

© Régis Golay, FEDERAL Studio

The Coral house is located in the Chandieu area, formed by a large urban block surrounded by Rue Giuseppe-Motta, Grand-Pré and Chandieu. This new housing estate takes part of the regeneration of a former industrial site and completes, together with the Bamboo Residence, a large city block. At the intersection of the avenue and the Chandieu road, a public square supplemented by a fountain and a sculpture will be built in collaboration between the artiste Fabric Gygi and the architectural office ADR. The construction aims to high quality standards in terms of space and equipment, as well as construction materials and coating. It also seeks the MINERGIE label, by using optimum insulation for the exterior envelope, and highly efficient technical installations (heating is provided by geothermal heat pumps; double flux air system is distributed through the ceiling – ERV). The use of a high energy standard allowed use to obtain 10% additional net surface, compared to what was requested by the neighborhood plan.

Architect: group8
Location: Rue du Grand-Pré, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Photographs: Régis Golay, FEDERAL Studio

read more »

© Régis Golay, FEDERAL Studio

group8 settled down in its new workspace on May 20 2010. A former industrial hall, near the center of Geneva (Switzerland), hosts these new offices designed in order to make the best use of the 780 sqm and the 9m of height. This white and luminous space contains a hidden treasure: 16 recycled shipping containers. All of which have been traveling across the world for thousands of kilometers over the oceans of the globe. Piled up as giant Legos, the containers were preserved “as found” without any outside cosmetic transformation. This aesthetic keeps the poetry of their former use and differentiates them from the immateriality of the big neutral space they lie in. Realistically, the use of containers represents a gain of about 200 sqm, while making good use of the height within the space.

Architect: group8
Location: 37, chemin Philibert-de-Sauvage,1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland
Civil Engineer: T-Ingénierie SA
Acoustical Engineer: D’Silence acoustique
Furniture: Dynamobel
Project Area: 780 sqm
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Régis Golay, FEDERAL Studio

read more »

© Stefan Antoni

Architects: SAOTA (Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects) with SRA Kössler & Morel Architects
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
SAOTA Project Team: Stefan Antoni, Greg Truen & Juliet Kavishe
SRA Project Team: Karin Fatio & Pierre Kössler
Interior design: Antoni Associates – Mark Rielly
Project area: 2,800 sqm
Project year: 2010
Photographs: Stefan Antoni

read more »

From april 18 to april 26, 2009, Swiss Association of Engineers and Architects (SIA) organizes the Contemporary Architecture Week. All along the week, visits to more than 100 contemporary buildings will be organized and led by each building’s author. In the same days, a series of conferences will be held in Geneva, Lausanne, Fribourg and Bern. The list of all visits and conferences can be downloaded here and here.