Entrance via Rue Julienne-Piachaud
The Manège was built in 1829 to house a military riding hall in the historic centre of Geneva and was transformed into a garage in the 1930s. In 1950, two large in-situ concrete slabs in the central nave and ramps in one of the side volumes were added to turn the building into a car park. A participatory process, promoted by the association of local inhabitants, started in 2006 with the aim of returning the building to the life of the city with a varied public programme, which led to an open architecture competition.
The project proposes the careful restoration of the façades and timber roof structures, and the reuse of the 1950s concrete structure, combined with a selective demolition of the upper slab and ramps. The intention is to transform the Manège into a civic building with minimal intervention, seeking to recompose its spatial clarity and redefine its social and urban presence.
Approach on Rue Saint-Léger
Fountain and Rotonde
Entrance
Entrance hall
Rotonde
Rotonde
Bench and curtain detail
Creche
Creche
Creche
Ludothèque
Mezzanine
Ludothèque
Main stair
Main stair
Grand Salle
Grand Salle
Grand Salle
Grand Salle
Terrace
Pergola
Bathrooms
Stair and skylight
Handrail
Pushchair parking
Rue Colladon
Ground floor plan
First floor plan
Second floor plan
Loft plan
Longitudinal
Cross section
Elevation Rue Julienne-Piachaud
Elevation Rue Saint-Léger
Elevation Rue Jean-Daniel-Colladon
Credits:
International Design Competition: 1st prize
Project title: Réhabilitation d’un Ancien Manège en bâtiment d’équipements publics
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Client: DPBA, Ville de Genève
Architect: Estar, Aurora Armental Ruiz & Stefano Ciurlo Walker
Collaborators competition: Jan Liebe, Andrés Fraga, Laurent de Wurstemberger, Carlos Comendador
Collaborators project: Ingrid Gjermstad, Thomas Lorin, Maya Brams Koch, Xulio Turnes Vieito, María Esther Bergua Orduna, Inês Gomes, Sakura Aoba, Jon Onandia, Julia Nahmani, Riccardo Amarri, Johanna Hemberger, Alejandro Morales Martín
Civil engineer: ESM
Building physics: ESTIA
Building Survey: ARCHEOTEC
Surveyor: Buffet Boymond
Heating and ventilation engineer: Ecobuilding
Sanitary engineer: 2015-2019 BTS , execution BUCLIN
Electrical engineer: DSSA
Lighting strategy: Estar, Quicler-Lopez
Acoustic engineer: AAB
Security engineer: Phenix Conceils
Scenic engineer: VADAS
Wayfinding: Estar,
Model photography: Andrés Fraga
Building photography : Andrés Fraga and Luis Díaz Díaz
Competition: 2014
Design: 2015-2019
Construction: 2019-2021
The Manége was awarded the Clou Rouge by Patrimoine Suisse in 2024.