MacIver-Ek Chevroulet . Sujets Objets
In the context of the Pointe de la Jonction in Geneva, characterized on the one hand by the presence of nature and on the other by its industrial past, the proposed Canoe Club building responds to the site’s constraints in a simple, light, flexible way, by re-employing pieces collected from its context and thus maintaining a trace of its heritage.
The project dismantles the temporary building of the Courrier, reusing and recomposing its prefabricated facade elements as a base that can withstand the ever-increasing flooding on the site. Four steel trusses from the neighbouring bus depot are flipped upside down and placed under tension, providing a flexible plan without columns on the first floor. Re-use avoids the transportation of materials as well as the use of resources and the emissions of CO2 linked to the production of materials. The assembly of prefabricated elements from different buildings currently on the site creates a new language in a way that diverts them from their original use.
The building finds itself materially related to its surroundings, while at the same time detached and autonomous, part of the landscape rather than part of the urban space.
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