Swiss Review 4/2019

Swiss Review / July 2019 / No.4 12 Society STÉPHANE HERZOG The Genevan people want to make themost of their waterfronts. For the last decade or so, they have been pouring onto the banks of the Rhône to bathe as they did in the Middle Ages, or indeed, as people have been doing in the Aare and the Rhine, in Berne and Basel, for some time now. As of 22 June, the people have a new beach to enjoy: the Plage des Eaux- Vives. A ten-minute walk from the city cen- tre, this free public area, measuring a total of 500metres inwidth, is due for completion in spring 2020. Set be- tween land and lake, it will contain a water garden with rare plants, as re- quested byWWF, and a park. Built on stilts, this leisure hub will include a large esplanade for dinghies, a fishing village and a restaurant facing the Jet d’eau. The Port de la Nautique and its clubwill be expanded from600moor- A public beach brings Geneva closer to its lake Geneva’s new point of access to its lake is a response to both social and climatic requirements. It has also brought a more relaxed feel to the Calvinist city’s relationship with the water, as has long since been the case in Berne and Zurich. Geneva, in the back- ground behind the Jet d’Eau, is building a new beach on a section of its lake in response to its changing needs. Photo: Serge Fruehauf ing spaces to 1,000. A long embank- ment will be constructed heading away fromthe shore to protect the site. The embankment has led some to fear that the water will not remain suffi- ciently fresh for swimmers. The can- ton denies this claim, however. “You have to take risks and move forward,” states architect Marcellin Barthassat who took part in the renovation of the Bains des Pâquis on the other side of the lake in the 1990s.