Façades de la Banque Pictet

Type

Bureaux

Date de réalisation

2006

Ingénieur civil

Groupement d'ingénieurs: GEOS Ingénieurs Conseils SA / Amsler Bombeli et Associés SA / Solfor SA

Maître de l'ouvrage

Pictet & Cie

Autre(s) intervenant(s)

ASS SA - Direction des travaux

Surface brute

35'000 m2

Coût

Procédure

concours

Architecte

Bassi Carella Marello Architectes

Interview de l'architecte

Descriptif

Based on the massing of a project authorised in 1995, this private bank of Geneva, historically installed in the “ceinture fazyste” (place of ancient fortifications destroyed in the radical revolution of 1846) decided to reuse the design of its façade upon relocation to the Acacias district. With the same window module repeated two hundred and fifty times, the new envelope gives an imposing, solemn feeling to the building which suits its status, whilst being in line with contemporary architectural design. The L-shaped building blends into the district’s urban fabric. The main access, located on route des Acacias, is indicated on the ground floor by a porch whose shade invites you to enter. The architectural research concerned both the base module in pre-fabricated tinted concrete and its glass filling. The first needed a series of raw material samples which defined the ingredients of the concrete – green marble aggregates mixed with an iron and copper oxide pigment - and finish by fine sanding. These imposing components are assembled using a rather classic structure with two vertical struts and a horizontal crossbar. However, it is the very elongated form that gives the whole its essential character. The glazing is composed of a double skin to allow noise from the road to be reduced and the installation of a ventilation system. The dimensions of the pieces of glass have been pushed to the maximum manufacturing limits. References to the 1950s can be seen in the treatment of the corner.