Bambou and Coral House occupy a former industrial site and large urban island in Geneva. Comprising of six floors with a double level duplex penthouse and two garage levels, the building houses 46 apartments in total.
Studio Name: G8A Arechitecture & Urban Planning
Name of project: Bamboo
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Program: Residential buildings
Client: A&A Real Estate Grand-Pré
Site Area: 20’000 m2
Project cost: 50M USD
Commision year: 2007
Complete year: 2011
Photographer: Patrick Bingham-Hall & Federal Studio, Regis Golay
Extra: Completed with group8
Its exceptional location, near penetrating greenery, is enhanced by the facades on its three sides, entirely glazed with large bay windows of tinted glass. Re-interpreting an image of pixelated nature the users are protected by a mosaic of panels, inspired by the vegetal theme of bamboo, that can be moved and offer differing permeability according to desire.
Maximum use of the plot forces the building to have a slightly curved shape. In the interior, all apartments display a common and regular system: a vast entrance hall distributes all rooms without loss of corridor space.
The penthouse with a concave / convex facade forms a volume that tends to melt towards the sky. The interior surfaces of the building are generously dimensioned and large terraces extend all of the apartments to the southwest with the ground floor tenants occupying private gardens.
G8A Architects
G8A is an entirely Swiss-owned company. Based in Geneva (Switzerland), Singapore and Hanoi (Vietnam), it is led by two founding architects Manuel Der Hagopian and Grégoire Du Pasquier, each with more than fifteen years’ experience, assisted by two Directors Armand Devillard and Laurence Savy. The company specializes in architectural design, urban planning and interior design.
Aiming to innovate and produce creative strategies, G8A focuses on setting standards at all levels, particularly in terms of economic and environmental efficiency. Integrating cultural added-value into each project remains a central part of all actions and discussions within the team.
G8A’s workshop culture offers satisfaction and synergies through teamwork at both local and international level. All projects are submitted to the same rigorous internal process, whatever the scale, from the study for a simple birdcage to the development of a mixed-use complex or the master planning for a new town.
G8A’s projects feature regularly in local and international publications. All of the firm’s partners actively participate in professional associations for architects, both in Switzerland and Asia. G8A is also part of the theoretical debate in architecture through its involvement in a number of lectures and teaching endeavors all over the world.
G8A_Grégoire Du Pasquier
G8A_Manuel Der Hagopian
