Sauerbruch Hutton

Saint-Georges Center . Geneva

Sauerbruch Hutton . photos: © spg . © Jan Bitter . + spg

The Saint-Georges Center contributes in a confident yet discret manner to the renewal of an urban quarter close to the city centre of Geneva.

The new construction replaces the north wing of a three-part office ensemble from the 1960s.The eight-storey building nestles against the existing ten-storey main structure with a gently bowed form towards Boulevard Saint-Georges. lt takes up and continues the formally dominant canopy of the main building while with its own curved prow,it sustains a certain autonomy in the urban setting;, its presence reinforced through the facade's range of reddish tones.The variety in literal and optical depth of the vertical and horizontal elements of the facade creates a richness of identity with each passer­ by gaining a unique impression of the building envelope.The facade profiles deepen towards the south of the building so as to function as a brise-soleil,optimising passive solar performance.
The outer skin of the bui dinghasall the attributesof a ontemporary,intelligent exterior shell, including highly-insulating multi-layered glazing and effective external solar protection. Additional contributions from active building elements and geothermal energy have resulted inthe building being awarded a Minergie Certificate under Swiss sustainabiity standards.