Berrel Berrel Kräutler / Herzog Architekten

Description

The extension to the administration building for the Swiss Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance (AHV) in Geneva is a ten-storey volume docking directly onto the existing building. The façade of the new wing with its proportions, the arrangement of the openings and its materiality carries forward the look of the original structure but in a contemporary manner. A new base façade extending across both buildings as well as a continuous roof edge fuse the composition matter-of-factly into a harmonious whole. On all above-ground storeys, the ancillary spaces are housed in central cores so that the open spaces along the façade flow into one another as seamlessly as possible. The corridors between the cores offer varied views in all directions. The nearly one thousand workplaces are arranged on the upper floors in a configuration that allows them to be flexibly extended and repurposed at will. The ground floor is designed as an open and varied landscape of spaces with a view of the park and accommodates the reception areas and restaurant. On the first lower level is a large training area, which features a two-storey atrium connecting it to the ground floor and letting in the daylight. On these two public floors, light-coloured terrazzo floors contrast with dark wood walls.