Lacroix Chessex

Maison des Etudiants . Geneva

Lacroix Chessex . photos: © Radek Brunecky

Situated at the entrance of Geneva, the Students housing of the Graduate Institute are open to the world.

The shape of the building forms a broken bar which one of the facade follows the curve of the railway tracks. This particular shape disturbs the perception of this big urban building, which takes advantages of its size and the site’s constraints.
The facade consists of private balconies at the East and large “coursives” at the West side. It expresses a superposition of great horizontal slabs, which also play the role of filter against the sun and the noise. The height of the balustrades varies according to angle of incidence of the noise from the trains passing by. This principle also provides the building a facade that progressively lightens itself to the sky.
The geometries of the two facades generate a play of shades that gives an identity and a singular plasticity to the building capturing in it the dynamics of the site. The building opens itself to the panorama of Geneva, like an open hand and generates a semi private garden right at its feet along a public promenade.
All the apartments are oriented to both sides (“traversants”). All the rooms are situated on the East side and benefit from the morning sun and the tremendous view on the lake and the Alps. All the common spaces are looking on the West side, on the “coursives.
These coursives are meeting places in the open air as the ship decks overlooking the fascinating spectacle of trains entering and leaving Geneva.
This building, with its simplicity, its form and set of scales, tries to create a dialogue to the city international institutions.

Name of the project
Maison des Etudiants (student housing)
Exact definition of the building (e.g. primary school, one family house)
Location of the project
Avenue de France 20-22 1202 Geneva Switzerland
Client
The Graduate Institute 1211 Geneva 21 Switzerland

Architect (project & construction manager)
Name Lacroix Chessex
Project team
Hiéronyme Lacroix,Simon Chessex (partners)
Frédéric Crausaz (associate)
Project team: Grégoire Martin, Jon Onandia, Cristina Moldes, Boris Pflugfelder, Stéphane Koularmanis
Competition phase: Hiéronyme Lacroix, Simon Chessex, Ubaldo Martella, Leonhard Kanapin

Structural engineering
Thomas Jundt Ingénieurs Civils CH-1227 Carouge
Energestion SA CH-1227 Carouge
Photographer
Radek Brunecky CH-8005 Zurich