BONHÔTE ZAPATA architectes
Grand Conseil
best architects 23
renovation and addition
Place
Geneva, Switzerland
Studio
Photos
Ariel Huber
Description
The transformation of
the parliament chamber and the Hôtel de Ville, a historic building of national
importance, was initiated in order to reorganise the parliamentary rooms, make
them accessible to people with reduced mobility and renew the technical
equipment. The project ultimately led to rethinking the internal relationships
and coherence of a significant part of the building. The parliament chamber
itself is conceived as a jewel box inserted like new architecture into the old,
occupying the entire volume of the building’s south wing. It is topped by a
dome providing light and reaching the top of the roof, opening onto a zenith
window. The desks (benches) have been changed from a face to face organisation
(UK-style) to a hemicycle facing the city, which is now visible thanks to the
replacement of the old stained and opaque glass windows by new transparent
ones. The use of solid wood and green marble is enhanced by a combination of
generous natural and artificial light. The ceiling of the main parliament
chamber is treated like a lamp providing light through a shading of solid oak
slats. The cabinetry work, the presidential podium and the desks, also in oak,
complete and unify the ensemble, whose atmosphere is simultaneously solemn in its
dimensions and comfortable in its materiality.