Would transforming empty offices into apartments be the solution to combating the housing shortage in Switzerland? The question is addressed on Friday in Friborg during a conference organized by the High School of Engineering and Architecture. But putting it into practice proves laborious in the field.
In Geneva, nearly 277,000 m2 of offices are currently empty. A law passed in 2015 was to facilitate the transformation of offices into apartments. But in 9 years, only 165 authorizations have been issued by the Canton and the majority concern only one, or even two dwellings maximum.
>> Read again on this subject: Geneva for the transformation of empty offices into housing
This proposal does not make it possible to respond to all the problems linked to the housing crisis, underlines the socialist member of the Geneva Grand Council Caroline Marti in La Matinale on Friday. According to her, there are many obstacles, such as the costs associated with this type of transformation.
For his part, the secretary general of the Geneva Real Estate Chamber Christophe Aumeunier criticizes administrative barriers. “The State was not proactive,” according to him. He cites a refusal of a building authorization “while the noise standard was exceeded by only one decibel”.
“Legal framework problem”
For Simon Chessex, architect and professor at the Friborg High School of Engineering and Architecture, the room for progress still remains enormous in Switzerland. There is a problem with the legal framework, he believes on Friday in La Matinale.
“The blockages occur at the political level and at the level of standards,” he says, in particular noise or environmental issues. The architect pleads in favor of some exemptions.
>> Listen to the interview with Simon Chessex in La Matinale:
Examples exist
Despite difficulties on the ground, examples exist. In the canton of Bern, the former headquarters of a large construction company has been transformed into 84 apartments. The building offers large common areas, including a gym and community sauna.
“We should build less, because there are already very many built spaces,” says Axel Humpert, a Zurich architect specializing in the renovation and transformation of industrial buildings. “We need to learn how to transform (offices) creatively.”
>> Listen to the report in La Matinale:
In Geneva, the insurance company Axa recently announced that it would transform old offices into housing over the next five years, with 228 new apartments as a result.
Radio Sujet: Mehdi Piccand
Adaptation web: Julie Liardet
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