Fondation Plaza
“We conceived this archive cabinet as a beating heart: an object that is both functional and patrimonial, preserving the memory of the Plaza while structuring the daily life of the Foundation.”
Located in the city center, close to the train station, the Mont Blanc Centre is an iconic complex designed by the Geneva-based architect Marc-Joseph Saugey in the 1950s, including the famous Plaza. Its strategic position in the heart of Geneva makes it a true landmark in the city’s urban landscape. Moreover, as a historic building listed as heritage since 2019, it plays a key role in the preservation of Geneva’s rich architectural heritage. It is here that the Plaza Foundation chose to establish itself.
At the heart of the Plaza Foundation’s offices, an archive cabinet becomes the central element of the project: a modular case in green-stained birch plywood that gathers and showcases the entire archive of the Plaza Cinema. Conceived both as a conservation space and as a working tool, it incorporates pull-out consultation drawers as well as reception, cloakroom and printing functions, structuring the organization of the offices which are arranged around it. Particular attention is given to the director’s office, conceived as a reference workspace revealing the original materials and colors defined by Marc-Joseph Saugey, through a meticulous process of research and restoration.
