Rhythmic Repetition

The Headquarters of Société Privée de Gérance (SPG) in Geneva receives a new facelift, a rhythmic envelope that changes the looks of its dated façade.

- Aneeta Sundararaj

A man stands before a non-descript building and partly closes his eyes so as to blur the lines of the box-shaped dark structure. He listens intently to what he calls the ‘murmurs’ that come from the landscape around him and to what his clients have to say. Having absorbed all that is necessary for his task ahead, he opens his eyes and knows what to do.

One can imagine that this might be the manner in which Italian architect, Giovanni Vaccarini (of the architecture studio Giovanni Vaccarini Architetti) conceived the design for the new Headquarters of Société Privée de Gérance (SPG) in Geneva.

When the reconversion and extension of SPG was complete, the design was based on a simple system that, when repeated, produced a complex multiplication of visions, both on the inside and outside of the building. In essence, with adaptive reuse, Vaccarini created a new façade and added extra floors. Today, SPG is a building that plays with light and gives a shimmering effect to the main body.

REPETITION AND RHYTHM

As magnificent as SPG now is, the story behind the creation of this structure is equally fascinating. Situated on the Route de Chêne, at the gates of the historical center of Geneva, one of the central themes for the architects is to enhance the quality of the work space inside the building. This, says Vaccarini, is what led him to completely redesign the exterior facade of the building.