The Salève cable car wins the Équerre prize, the Goncourt of architecture

A panoramic restaurant

The elected officials had chosen, after competition, an architectural project which proposed to give back to Braillard what belonged to him but above all, made it possible to go further in this virtuous access to the Salève. The Devaux et Devaux Architectes agency created the panoramic restaurant. Without forgetting a seminar room, a staircase tower, the modification of the cabin arrival platform and the creation of spaces accessible to the public, the restoration of the raw concrete facades and the redevelopment of the exterior spaces. The gallery topped with a roof terrace promenade was the final touch.

“Our project consisted of respecting what exists but also inventing. For 90 years, what was unfinished in the upper part of the station, we have made it habitable. This cable car allows everyone to access nature in a clean way,” continues the architect.

The jury understood this well. He underlined the “ethical” nature of the rehabilitation project “in the service of the initial work”. With its panoramic restaurant open for more than a month and bringing a new breath of life, the challenge of elected officials and architects on a complex and perched site was met brilliantly, allowing the public to get even closer to Mother Nature at 1,100 meters above sea level.

And that was well worth a price. Especially the Équerre d’Argent prize…