Experimental

The proposal for the renovation of the Geneva Library, located within the Parc des Bastions, begins with a clear gesture: to make accessible and visible a space that has, until now, remained closed and monumental. By removing the symbolic weight of traditional institutional architecture, the project integrates more fluidly into the city, fostering a new relationship between the library, the university, and the public realm.

The intervention is centred around the insertion of a subterranean volume that houses the city’s intellectual heritage in a thermally and structurally optimised space. Above, a gently sloping green plaza provides universal access and connections between the existing buildings, requalifying the area as the Library Gardens — a point of convergence between institutional functions and public use.

A lightweight pavilion, positioned at the top of the slope, serves as the main entrance. It acts simultaneously as a reception area, café, exhibition space, and logistical hub for the library. Its green roof helps mitigate the urban heat island effect and provides thermal regulation to the adjacent buildings, also functioning as a passive ventilation device.

The underground construction employs diaphragm walls, post-tensioned slabs, and recycled concrete (RC-C50), in compliance with Minergie P-ECO standards. The structural grid follows a regular rhythm that optimises slab thickness and controls deformation — both critical to the performance of the archive systems.

The project transforms the library into a multifunctional public facility, open to the city’s everyday life, and reimagines the Parc des Bastions as a civic campus where culture, education, and leisure coexist.