The emblematic Salève cable car station in Monnetier-Mornex, in Haute-Savoie, won the 2024 Equerre d’argent prize, a prestigious award in the field of architecture. The site built in 1932, listed as a historic monument, was completely rehabilitated after two years of work.
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An emblematic architectural work of Haute-Savoie received, Monday, November 18, the very prestigious Equerre d’argent 2024 prize. This is the Salève cable car station which offers a breathtaking view to its 300,000 visitors annual visits to Geneva and Lake Geneva. This bonus rewards the team of builders of a building completed within the year in France.
A renowned track record: the Paris court, the Cité des métiers Hermès, the Louvre-Lens, and the Institut du monde Arabe have received the Equerre d’Argent in previous editions. This year, the choice was made to reward a rehabilitation rather than a new one, since the construction dates from 1932.
It was created by the Geneva architect Maurice Braillard with the collaboration of the French engineer André Rebuffel, but it was never really completed.
On this sketch, it is possible to see the Salève cable car station before the renovations.
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© Salève station archives
“This Swiss architect was emblematic and daring since in 1932 he had already designed a panoramic terrace and the panoramic restaurant which unfortunately never saw the light of day. We will have to wait 92 years for the opening of this famous restaurant“, explains Anne-Joëlle Rosay Baud-Grasset, Annemasse Agglomération heritage and architecture director, speaking to France 3 Alpes.
The cross-border structure located at an altitude of 1,100 meters was recently rehabilitated by the Parisian agency DDA, the architects Claudia and David Devaux and by the Salève local cross-border cable car cooperation group which owns the infrastructure.
This work lasted two years, the result of collaboration between France and Switzerland for an amount of more than 10 million euros. The gdeparture and arrival areas have been completely restored and new reception areas such as the panoramic restaurant or the seminar room and new service and leisure areas redesigned for the public. The cable car reopened on September 12, 2023.
A restaurant has been opened at the top of the cable car.
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© WORRETH Serge – France Télévision
Almost a century after its construction, the architects chose to retain the original concrete on the facade. And in the gallery, the floor has regained its former soul with its checkerboard tiles. The exterior spaces have been completely redone with a roof terrace created above the gallery.
A complex and emblematic rehabilitation project. The Natura 2000 classified site has also been listed as a historic monument since 2018 and it must also meet strict ski lift regulations.
The “ethical” side of this project was also praised by the jury. “The architects integrated renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic panels and wood boilers. Water was also considered as a resource to be recovered and preserved: a rainwater collection and recovery system was put in place.specifies the press release from the DDA agency.
