INAD

Short description

Discretion. In compliance with the federal authorities' request to host a center for asylum seekers and persons in a situation of non-admission on Swiss soil, Geneva Airport had to find a location in 2012 to allow for the construction of a new building, as the premises used at that time were located within the perimeter of the future construction site of the East wing.

The project

Efficiency. Designed to accommodate a maximum of forty people, the building responds clearly and rationally to the needs of its specific use.

Built on a single level, the building is characterized by two blocks with flat roofs. To the east, a simple parallelepiped is connected by an airlock to another "L" shaped volume. It is this one that, on the west side, hosts the only entrance of the complex.

Distributed around a central corridor, all the rooms benefit from a pleasant flow of natural light. The part reserved for the administration concentrates offices, spaces for auditions and supervision as well as a small cafeteria. Further on, the dormitories and family rooms, a playroom, a prayer room and multi-purpose areas are grouped together. The complex also includes various technical rooms and, of course, sanitary facilities with showers and individual toilets. Depending on the use of the rooms, the floors are covered with tiles or carpeting; a simple paint is applied to the plasterboard partitions. The load-bearing structure combines reinforced concrete slabs and load-bearing walls in "Agglo-plein" (cement blocks guaranteeing appreciable sound insulation).

The envelope receives an efficient peripheral insulation concealed by a fibrocement cladding framed, at each opening, by a decorative wooden element. All windows are equipped with triple glazing reinforced anti-intrusion. The technology includes geothermal probes for heat or cooling production, as well as photovoltaic sensors. These judicious choices have enabled the building to obtain the Minergie-P® label.

The composition of the facades is sober. The modules are repeated in harmonious proportions, where an attractive layout balances the verticality of the fiber cement panels and the horizontal partitions of the woodwork.

This controlled sobriety was in place from the beginning of the project and continued throughout the execution phase, without ever falling into the trap of cheapness or sloppy finishing. From the designers to the executors, all the protagonists were committed to the success of this singular building.

The constraints specific to the airport zone, limited height levels for handling, did not hinder the management of the work. The site was completed without delay in only ten months.