Raymond Uldry Business School / meier + associés architectes

Architects: meier + associés architectes
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Team Project: Philippe Meier, Ana-Inès Pepermans, Martin Jaques, Frank Herbert, Jean-Daniel Pasquettaz, Adrien Renoult, Amalia Jimenez, Adriano Reis, Julio Lopez, Diego Osorio Calvo, Cathy Martinie, Linda Serra, José Ortells Barbero, Teresa Blanco, Francisca Machado Lima, Rodrigo Lino Gaspar, Laurence Boyé, Kim Henny, Guillaume Boussemart, Paulo Duarte, Sebastien Le Dortz, Tiago Menino, Nicolas Pailler, Joel Fernandes, Patrick Flum, Joao-Pedro Vaz, Antonio Martin Prieto, Marta Alpuim, Angelos Komninos
Area: 17400.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Yves André

Achievement Architect: architech
Civil Engineer: ab ingénieurs
Heating And Ventilation Engineer: BG ingénieurs conseils
Sanitary Engineer : Schumacher Ingénierie
Electrical Engineer: Scherler ingénieurs conseils
Fire Safety Engineer: Haldi Sàrl/ Scherler
Facade Engineer: BCS
Acoustical Engineer: AAB Stryjenski & Monti
Surveyor: Christian Haller, Ney & Hurni
Client: Etat de Genève
Programme: 75 classrooms, 3 gym classes, lecture hall of 300 places, school restaurant, media library, archives

Text description provided by the architects. The plot is located at the head of a new urban front of quite a considerable scale, which runs from the Route de Frontenex to La Gradelle. This new development at the top of the plateau is closely linked to a “highway of greenery” coming in from the countryside and entering the city.

In order to take account of this particular situation and ensure that the new business school participates in this articulation, the building was designed as a kind of large “flower” placed in a green space. The layout of the entrance to the building pays homage to the presence of the old ‘Patry villa’ which faces it.

In opening its ‘arms’ out to the distant landscape (Salève, Voirons, Jura, etc.), the school is inserted into a world of greenery of which it is an artificial extension. In order to limit the impact to the ground, the three gyms have been superimposed. This sectional layout allows not only to have views into the gyms from the circulation spaces, but also allows these spaces to be naturally illuminated by the light of the gyms themselves.

Arranged in a star shape around a central circulation area, the classrooms and special rooms run along bare concrete walls, perforated by fine breaks of light. The north-west branch of the school houses the common programmatic elements: the cafeteria, the teachers’ room, the media library (on a double level) and a multipurpose room.

The facades consist of prefabricated elements in high-performance concrete, with a rythm that evokes the structure of a tree. There is a larger density of load bearers at the bottom, and fewer higher up, in line with the natural reduction of effort.
Outdoor facilities are placed around the school in a way that reflects the same concern for preserving the vegetation.