Lancy-Pont-Rouge

14 km of track, tunnels and bridges and five new stations were built in the Canton of Geneva to commission the Léman Express. This historic project is known as CEVA (Cornavin - Eaux-Vives - Annemasse). 

Originally designed as a temporary structure in 2002, Lancy-Pont-Rouge Station, the final version was inaugurated on 10 December 2017 by the Canton of Geneva and SBB, architects of the project. The first station on the Léman Express network and the only overhead station on the CEVA route, this mobility hub serves the Adret and Pont-Rouge districts. It is one of the key links in the cross-border Léman Express. Because the platform is 320 metres long, it is called a “station” in SBB terminology.

Ateliers Jean Nouvel, in charge of the architectural concept for the new CEVA stations, followed the glass brick road. Although they are all different in shape and size, the stations have one thing in common: their glass bricks. They can be easily identified. Used as a wall, floor or roof element, these bricks allow natural light to filter through. 

It is a new addition to the layout of the area and is in the heart of a fast-growing district.

 Built fifty years ago, the Marignac swimming pool is now a classified Historical Monument. It is the work of the architects Georges Brera, Pierre Nierlé, and Paul Waltenspühl. Built between 1967 and 1968, swimmers enjoy a mineral amphitheatre from below ground level, sheltered from the noise of the city. Concrete was very popular at the time and is everywhere. Even the diving board seems to have sprung from the ground like a gigantic sculpture. The pool, located between the main road and the railway line, was a genuine architectural challenge.

Mire is a public art programme devised by the Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain (FCAC) in collaboration with the Centre d'Art Contemporain de Genève and the Office de l'urbanisme, with the cooperation of the SBB. This exposition of moving images and works of art is unlike no other in a public space.

The project is an artistic journey with audiovisual works by Swiss and international artists, integrated into the Jean Nouvel's station architecture.

Mire is unique as it focuses on video creations on a transport line. It's the first time that such a structure hosts varied programmes over a ten-year period. Indeed, it is a form of evolutionary building integrating images within the station.

Work by Yuri Ancarani, Piteco e il Faro, video installation, 7'30'', 2021. Work produced for Mire by the Fonds cantonal d'art contemporain, Geneva.

© Serge Fruehauf