We were requested for the study and transformation of an old shoe-manufacturers’ workshop into a café-bar-restaurant. It was in relation to the service of historic monuments that the renovation of the façades was undertaken.

Rough materials that lack refinement were chosen to transmit an «architectural souvenir» of the old workshop.

The walls are divided horizontally in two equal parts, with cement on the lower end, selected for its robust attributes, and plaster on the upper half, chosen for its purity and luminosity. The latter is the support for paintings during exhibitions held at this location. The works then naturally align themselves on the line of division between the two materials.

The floor in itself, constitutes of a plank paved with pre-tinted wood and lined with cement in destination of the geometric corrections of the orthogonality of the spaces in plan.

All the furniture was designed by our studio with the idea of optimising it towards its function and integration in space.

The façades were put in place in compliance with the acoustic regulations, re-using certain irons that can no longer be found on the current market.

The chic-industrial atmosphere dedicated to this new and equipped establishment is the result of an experimental research and is therefore little known to Geneva. 

Published in: Genève Sur La Terre, Trimestriel N°22, Edition Genève.

architecture       heritage       urban planning       landscape