Office to Housing
“Transforming what exists rather than demolishing, is building a bridge between our past and a sustainable future.”
In response to the growing demand for housing in the city of Geneva and the high vacancy rates currently observed in the office market, the commercial building constructed at the Bouchet crossroads in the late 1980s is set to evolve and accommodate residential units. In light of today’s global climate concerns which require a drastic reduction of CO₂ emissions, and in order to minimize environmental impact, the option of demolishing and rebuilding the existing structure was rejected in favor of a pioneering renovation project.
It is no longer conceivable to produce such large amounts of waste while extracting so many resources from our environment. The CO₂ embedded in each material can be reused and revalorized, avoiding the additional pollution and energy consumtion that would result from replacing it with new materials. The project therefore aims to find the right path toward reuse while remaining both relevant and economically viable.
“Sustainability challenges are transforming architectural practice, turning the built city into a resource to be reinvented for more responsible architecture, where the reuse of materials is an integral part of the design process.”
