BCR architectes

Description

The separation between public and administrative sections inside the building is discernible from the outside. The entire structure is covered with an envelope of glass – except for the windowpanes in the public spaces – lending the façade an abstract quality that helps tone down the scale of the building. The play of light on its surface suggests a contemporary variation on the sturdy façades of the adjacent historical buildings. 

The building is located on the north side of the Lancy Town Hall Park. Perched atop a plateau, the park was declared a historic monument in 1921. A lower plateau – halfway down – was built by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) between 1963 and 2000 with ballast from the railway construction in neighbouring La Praille and has since been incorporated into the public park. The administrative building (BAM) is situated between the belvedere and the Rapin Villa, and its current layout follows the pattern of neighbouring houses. The building links the park’s two plateaus through two ground floors (lower and higher level). The wedding room located in the lower ground floor makes the most of this part of the park, which was until recently relegated to oblivion, and allows it to develop its own character. An underground car park with sixty places is lodged at the level of the lower ground floor.