THE SURVILLE TOWERS
Resolving the urban situation by installing two oval shape buildings allows the front of the road junction to be linked to the space of the inhabited park in a flexible manner, by means of a set of identity indicators that are not too monumental. The “twin towers” are inseparably linked, despite the fact that they are used for quite different purposes: hotel residences on the one hand and administrative buildings on the other. The two buildings, aligned at the ledge, mark out a tree-lined square that provides public access to the northern part of the Surville neighbourhood, an exceptional site whose density has been entirely redefined by a land-use plan that gives pride of place to the plant heritage. On a balcony overlooking Geneva, the upper floors provide views of the city and the distant landscape. The uniform architectural expression of the façades made of prefabricated concrete elements is guaranteed by the rhythm of the pillars and the repetition of the elevations, which mark the levels and outline the ellipses. Using slight nuances, the buildings are embedded in line with the zoning assignment and in the context, including large glazing for the offices and south-facing balconies for the housing units.
