Swiss Review 4/2019

Swiss Review / July 2019 / No.4 13 Yverdon and Zurich have their eyes on Geneva “The bay view will be extraordinary, and we’ll be away from the traffic, in peace and quiet,” explained project manager Franck Pidoux in May. The civil servant, who directs the sector for the renaturation of water courses for the canton, recalls that petitions requesting improved access to the lake have existed for some time. “We had themost limited offer in the Lake Geneva area, in contrast with Berne or Zurich, for example, where they have never cut themselves off from their rivers,” he says. But can a lake bemod- ified? For this project manager, the process is possible, but controversial: “representatives fromYverdon and Zu- rich have come to see the project to understand Geneva’s approach to building on a lake, which remains an exceptional action under law.” Lake Geneva: from steam rooms to bathing The city has had a historically tumul- tuous relationship with its water- fronts. “In the Middle Ages, people weren’t afraid of the water. Geneva had steam rooms, warmbaths, on the Rhône. These were meeting places, but they were banned during the Reformation. Then, over the centu- ries, the people of Geneva began bathing naked in the Rhône, despite the bans,” recounts historian Ber- nard Lescaze. “As for Lake Geneva, it served as a port and a place of indus- try until the 18th century, when the first lake-based baths were installed. From 1850 it lost its commercial value, and from 1900 onwards it be- came a place for recreational boating and regattas.” Yet, a movement in the opposite direction saw a ban on bath- ing in the Rhône. “Before the war, the working classes would meet at the Bain des Pâquis, and beauty contests were held on Geneva Plage on the left bank,” recounts Lescaze, who de- scribes the development of a “civili- sation of leisure and water”. Bathing at home in place of air travel The opening of the Plage des Eaux- Vives, the original plans for which were launched prior to the state of cli- mate emergency, comes at a key mo- ment in the city’s development. “In fact, another beach will have to be built elsewhere to meet issues of so- cial inequality and global warming,” predicts architect Marcellin Barthas- sat, underlining the importance of de- veloping public areas in cities in order to reduce long-distance journeys across the world. “Urban redevelop- ment is one of themajor challenges in- volved in city expansion. Indeed, there has been a drop observed in the number of young people obtaining driving licenses and we can see digi- tal tools leading to changes in mobil- ity.” In fact, Geneva has come a long way, reasons Franck Pidoux, who be- lieves that the situation began to turn after a referendum launched in 1987 to save the Bains des Pâquis, which had been earmarked for demolition. “In the sixties, seventies and eighties, the lake was very unclean. People bathed in swimming pools. The situ- ation has progressed to the point that the lake water is of very high quality. The lake attracts an increasingly tightly-packed crowd and the city must meet the public demand.” A more relaxed connection to the water in the north In German-speaking Switzerland, the relationship with water would be con- sidered “more direct and more re- laxed”, believes Barthassat. The archi- tect refers to the renaturation works completed inZurich along the Limmat and the unrestricted access to the lake via gardens, as well as the outdoor baths on the Aare in Berne. In Geneva, hundreds of metres of the quay are blocked by rock fill or walls. Yet, some Genevans consider the construction of the Plage des Eaux- Vives a sacrilege, in that it will essen- tially remove two hectares of lake – at an estimated overall cost of 67million Swiss francs. “For a bathing season that runs from June to September”, criticises Lescaze. “Yes, we will lose a piece of the lake, but the canton is making up for this by improving the richness of the fauna with the beach’s water garden andwith other examples of renaturation elsewhere in the can- ton,” responds Pidoux. A beach that will completely transform the bay Launched by former ecologist State Councillor Robert Cramer, and de- layed by an appeal by WWF, the Plage des Eaux-Vives project finds its source in a study which began in the 1990s. Entitled “Le Fil du Rhone ” [the Route of the Rhone], the study “considered the riverbanks from the point of view of a public space, with interventions from architects, engi- neers and artists”, explains Marcellin Barthassat. For this green politi- cian, it was about reacting to the private Nautical Society, which was looking to expand; the creation of a point of access to the water that would be open to everyone, and the redevelopment of the bay’s mer- chant quays downstream from the Jet d’eau, which had developed in an uncontrolled way. This project then led to a competition for ideas for the bay. The first winner suggested organising mini islands of activity around the bay, in the style of the Bains des Paquis development, facili- tating access to the water. The second envisaged pedestrianised access to the lake. Whatever the outcome, the historic fishery and shipyard activities of this part of the quay, a former port, are set to disappear, much to the dismay of certain Genevans. “How will we fill this space? Will we have to call in social workers to bring the quays to life? It’s not been decided,” comments Barthassat. (SH) 200m Extension of the yacht club harbour (400 places) New port (226 places) Buvette restaurant Fishermen’s house Passerelle Mooring platform for dinghies Beach Lake Geneva Genève- Plage Port-Noir Quai Gustave-Ador Parc La Grange Parc des Eaux-Vives Baby- Plage