Conservatory And Botanical Garden

The herbarium of the Botanical Garden is composed of a rare collection of historical specimens of great value along with one of the richest botanical libraries in the world.

Articulated on the rhythm of an orthogonal frame every 300 cm, the load-bearing structures are composed of welded metal profiles assembled in a repetitive modular selection. The important presence of glass in the pillar frames in addition to the frames of the façades, not unlike greenhouses architecture, give the building a special architectural expression. This building enables an accurate study in the definition of prototypical principles in the realisation and renovation process.

This important piece of work of Jean-Marc Lamunière (1925-2015) is to be understood as one of the only examples of Swiss modular and structuralist architecture, very popular at the time in Anglo-Saxon countries. The pivotal work in the architect's career, this construction was to to be completed only months before the 1973 oil crisis.

Borne of a dialogue and a strong commitment between Jean-Marc Lamunière and Christian Dupraz, the prototype is designed to verify if the change of the original laminated glass is sufficient to satisfy current energy requirements. The architectural intervention is carried out while maintaining the elements and details of the façade with the goal of optimising the thermal capacity of the glass. Without changing the details of construction and the assembled metal structures, translucent triple glazing corrects the construction's original thermal inefficiencies.

Christian Dupraz Architects