Rue du Général Dufour 20

Situation

The building occupies a prime position in the Cité de Calvin, a stone’s throw from Plainpalais and the Parc des Bastions. This strategic location in the business district means that the building, built at the end of the 19ᵉ century, is today used exclusively for administrative purposes.

With an SIA volume of 11,160 m³, the building, spread over five above-ground levels plus a basement, offers more than 2,000 m² of office space in spacious premises originally dedicated entirely to housing.

The project involves both restoring the many deteriorated components of the building and modernizing it, in particular the technical operating installations.

In view of the building’s historic value, the restoration options and transformations carried out on both the exterior and interior were the subject of consultation and joint studies with the Monuments and Sites Department.

Project

New technical facilities for unchanged spaces. The building has a rectangular plan: with its elongated main facade aligned with rue Général-Dufour, and turned back onto rue Bertholoni with the same modenature, it imposes a high-quality image, reinforced by monumental yet perfectly balanced overall proportions.

Transforming a building of this type to adapt it to modern requirements for administrative spaces calls for numerous precautions and difficulties to guarantee both aesthetics and flexibility of use.

The assertive style, representative of the building’s period, has been perfectly respected, right down to the renovation of the interior woodwork, which has been entirely maintained and painted grey. Walls, cornices and ceiling roses have been restored to their original condition and painted white, while the venerable parquet floors have been sanded and glazed, and the stone mantels treated to restore their expressive value.

All electrical, heating, air-conditioning, ventilation and sanitary installations are affected by the modernization measures.

The new high-voltage installations meet current standards, as do the newly installed fan coil units and the ventilation system in the washrooms. The elevator, which has been completely overhauled and brought up to standard, meets the requirements of a prestigious building.

All technical installations have been installed on each level, in keeping with the original layout and without detracting from the existing building elements. Distribution is ensured by walkways incorporated into a false floor located in the corridors.

These are covered in anthracite carpeting, the same color chosen for the ceilings of the common areas and washrooms, bringing a touch of modernity to this building of high heritage quality.