2023-12-12 19:18:01
Published12. December 2023, 8:18 p.m.
Geneva: Quai Wilson: “The winning project is almost unrealizable”
According to experts in this type of development, the solution chosen would be the most complex to implement, on a legal level, due to its influence on the lake. The City responds.
byCity of Geneva/Dellacherie Neyroud architects
“It’s a new Genferei which is emerging…” In the eyes of Alexandre Wisard, the former director of the Lake, River Renaturation and Fishing Service (SLRP), the future bathing area of the Quai Wilson would already be doomed to fall into the water. “The project chosen by the jury, called Les marches de Théia, is unrealizable due to the federal law on water protection.” What is it regarding? A question of distribution of skills. The City of Geneva, which launched the call for projects, is responsible for developments on dry land, in other words on the quay. On the other hand, as soon as you enter the water, this task falls to the Canton.
«Le lac: zone inconstructible»
Having experienced a real obstacle course during the construction of Eaux-Vives beach, former State Councilor Robert Cramer confirms that “the chosen project is not the simplest to carry out. It is in fact the one that requires the most coordination with the Canton and the most exemptions from federal law.”
Saskia Dufresne, general director of the Office for Building Authorizations, adds: “It is not enough for a project to be chosen to be carried out. All public policies must be consulted. However, the developments planned by the winners are progressing in the lake, which is a non-buildable zone, and therefore particularly sensitive. We will mention the steps which descend into Lake Geneva, the boundaries of the deep pools as well as the swimming platform which rests on an embankment, a development strongly limited by federal law.
The exhibition presented the different projects resulting from the Wilson Quay development competition.
map
“The jury missed the point,” tackles Alexandre Wisard. “We have the impression that the City cannot choose the most humble project, which would nevertheless be the easiest to carry out,” continues an informed observer. In the eyes of Robert Cramer, the situation at Quai Wilson is comparable to that of the Mont-Blanc footbridge project, which has been in progress for more than ten years. In diplomatic terms, the Green concludes: “Let’s say that the chosen project is very ambitious.” Not to say unachievable, according to some…
Surprised, WWF wants to talk to the City
The aforementioned experts are not the only ones to be surprised by the jury’s choice. Jean-Pascal Gillig, regional secretary of WWF explains: “When we discovered the winner, we were extremely surprised by the very mineral nature of the project and by the lack of consideration of environmental issues.” And added: “We requested an interview with the administrative advisor Frédérique Perler in order to study the possibilities for improvements.”
“The selected project achieved the best weighing of interests”
“According to the jury, the project selected is precisely the one which achieved the best weighing of interests between the new use expected on the quay and the multiple constraints of the site, environmental, historical, heritage, etc.,” retorts the Department of planning, construction and mobility (DACM). And added: “The project remains to be developed, the result of the competition does not give a definitive image.” It is now a matter of working on this basis, “in consultation in particular with the municipal and cantonal services concerned. This work will be able to reconcile the different issues,” assures the DACM. As for the supposed “lack of humility” of the first prize, the Department affirms that it seduced the jury “by its relative humility on such a vast site. Other projects, which were ruled out, provided for much larger footprints on the lake and had a much greater impact on the landscape.
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