Cycle d’orientation de Cayla / LRS Architectes

Architects: LRS Architectes
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Architect In Charge: LRS Architectes
Area: 17,558 sqm
Year: 2008
Photographs: Thomas Jantscher

Architects Collaborators: Baillif et Loponte Architectes, Susanna Fritscher
Client: DCTI / Etat de Genève

From the architect. The competition for the redesign of this high school in an outlying district of Geneva takes a fresh look at the site and the functionality of the school.

The buildings are concentrated in the east part of the plot on a stone square, freeing the public garden on the west side. The three units on the square define a sequence of public spaces open to the neighborhood.

Each unit has unique characteristics with specific functions: in the classroom building, the layout is peripheral, freeing the central space divided in 3 large rooms each with a double height and two external patios across from one another. This creates a variation of daylight and points of view.

A large entry hall / refectory opens the art building to the playground and takes the visitor to the lecture hall on the intermediate floor or to the first floor where the art classes are. In the third building, dedicated to sport, a wide hall overlooks the three athletic spaces.

The rigor of the building’s facade, as well as its subtle fading colours (painted by the artist Susanna Fritscher), create an impression which is both joyful and rational.