– A new swimming spot inaugurated in Cologny
A C-shaped stone pontoon offers a new space for splashing and lounging on the Left Bank. More than 700 reeds were also planted.
Posted today at 4:46 p.m.
The light color of the esplanade, made of stone, should prevent the ground from being too hot for the bare feet of bathers, we are assured.
LORRAINE FASLER
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The news comes at just the right time with the long-awaited arrival of sunny days: a new swimming area is to be discovered on the Left Bank. A C-shaped pontoon inaugurated this Tuesday by the authorities, under radiant sunshine and the deafening noise of traffic. The stone semi-circle seems to float on the water, near the Cologny quay, between the Tropical Corner and Port-Tunnel.
The 19 meter diameter pontoon is actually held by fourteen steel and concrete piles; it is made up of 60 custom-cut Italian limestones. An achievement of Adeo architectural officeto whom we already owe the ring-shaped structure, made of wood, and located not far away, but also the bathing slabs towards Port-Tunnel.
The choice of stone rather than wooden slats should save the authorities a fair amount of maintenance costs linked to incivility.
Five ladders allow launching into the water. A handrail was also installed on the “lake side”, as a safety measure, to catch yourself in the event of a fall.
LORRAINE FASLER
“This new project is sober but extremely beautiful. It contributes to the beautification of the harbor but above all to two fundamental ambitions: improving access to water for the public and the renaturation of the banks with the enhancement of biodiversity,” underlines Antonio Hodgers, State Councilor responsible for the Department of Territory.
The platform is in fact installed behind a new reed bed made up of 700 reeds, designed to develop the fauna and flora, but also to isolate the swimming area from the hubbub of the city. “Only 2% of the lake shores are natural,” recalls Jenifer Schlup, project manager at the Cantonal Water Office.
The esplanade and the reed bed are located along the Quai de Cologny, between the Tropical Corner and Port-Tunnel.
LORRAINE FASLER
People with reduced mobility will have to resign themselves, however, the location is only accessible by stepping over the existing low wall, then taking a path strewn with stones and crossing a nice step… “We had thought about opening the wall, but we feared that bicycles would take advantage of this or that young children or strollers would divert dangerously in the event of heavy traffic on the platforms,” replies Jenifer Schlup.
The pontoon is only accessible by stepping over this low wall which runs along the Cologny quay.
LORRAINE FASLER
An esplanade to be baptized
It remains to be seen what name will be chosen for this new space dedicated to swimming. Any idea is welcome. Bernard Girardet, administrative councilor of the commune of Cologny, already imagines talking about “C de Cologny”. Antonio Hodgers sees it, with a smile, as a possible reference to the C of the “circular” economy or even the project of new CERN “collider”.
On the budget side, the reed bed will have cost more than 1.36 million francs and the swimming structure 950,000 francs. A third of this amount was financed by Cologny, which has spent 3 million francs in recent years for new lake developments. A budget that was exhausted with this latest achievement.
Other similar spaces are being planned on the banks of the Rhône and on the lake, including a fourth batch of bathing tiles which should see the light of day this winter upstream of the Tour Carrée.
Consult our interactive map to discover other free swimming and relaxation places.
The new lakeside development was inaugurated this Tuesday by the municipal authorities of Cologny and Antonio Hodgers, State Councilor in charge of the Territorial Department.
LORRAINE FASLER
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