The quality of living spaces, their dimensions and comfort, determine the quality of urban life. The redevelopment of the Chêne-Bourg district of Canton Geneva, near the CEVA station (the local Cornavin–Eaux-Vives–Annemasse rail link), offered an opportunity to re-examine and renew the living space and its relation to the city. The project makes the most of the whole site, as well as the height and potential volume allowed by the planning regulations. The structure is simple and modular: a frame system that enables large surfaces to be left unobstructed and the profile of the facades to be completely freed from any structural constraints. In the same way, it makes it easy to manage the evolution of the distribution of functions in the long term. This enabled the insertion of five office platforms, which can be modulated from a single panoramic space to two, three or four independent spaces. To these are added 101 home units that exploit the differences in orientation and views and enjoy direct sunlight in both summer and winter.

The homes are spacious, pleasant and well lit, with the rooms mostly extending from side to side or with a dual aspect. They seek to recreate the qualities and character of a villa in the city. Each home unit has a winter garden and balconies, which extend the interior space. All the main rooms open onto these spaces through large floor-to-ceiling sliding windows, equipped for comfort with thermal curtains. The bioclimatic envelope consists of winter gardens that can be completely opened in summer, when they become large shady terraces. In winter, their glass facades can be closed to create protected climatic conditions, exploiting the level of sunlight and optimising the energy economy.
(from the architects’ project description)