FX Awards 2014 – the winners
Global Project
Winner: Quai des Berges By Make
Make has designed a space that offers confidential and discrete facilities for HSBC's clients, as well as a transparent, secure and friendly working environment for the bank's staff. Seven structurally independent historic buildings have been merged to form this high-end front office for HSBC in Geneva. The existing buildings, located on a prime lake-front setting in one of the oldest parts of the city, have been sensitively transformed into a strategically important client-facing front office for the bank. Quai des Berges provides a spacious, legible workplace for approximately 650 staff as well as a trading floor and premier client facilities, all with breathtaking views.
By subtly unifying the appearance of the roofs and the facades, the seven buildings now appear as one entity while keeping their silhouettes and maintaining the integrity of the original structures. The interior layout creates two separate but interactive realms - one for staff and one for clients - that occupy different parts of the building and have complementary but distinct characters.
An inner courtyard has been replaced with a full-height glazed atrium that forms a central hub joining the buildings together and giving the ensemble a consistent identity. The timber and glass construction enhances the visual connection between floors and provides the workspaces with generous levels of natural light. Circulation has been optimised with the addition of a dramatic cantilevered staircase that connects all seven floors and appears to float in the void between the adjacent historic facades. The scheme's sustainability performance is enhanced by using lake-water cooling, thereby meeting Geneva's stringent environmental rules. The building's external skin has been thoroughly insulated and triple glazing is used throughout.
The judges said:
'A beautiful less-is-more approach to architecture and interiors'
'Consistency in grand and small spaces. Great detailing and materials'
