CCI Haute Savoie + Tour Galbert

FOCUS by Jean-Loup Patriarche

A modern building for a modern institution: transparency, technology, modernity The image of chambers of commerce of the last century: the “establishment” adorned with Doric columns magnifying the notability of the function and perhaps the notability of its representatives as well, an image which now appears outdated due to the changes in the business world which has become modern, electronic, instant, intangible and practically without a fixed abode. It was therefore essential that the building tasked with making connections throughout the world of business, trade, industry, crafts, tourism and services, exists as a simple, hyper-functional place for exchanges and transfer of knowledge.

For us, the simplicity of the plan design signifies the lasting nature of a truly living building, without reference to a fashion, the indelible mark of a function at a given instant. The emergence of several contemporary projects in the Galbert district ran the risk, if not carefully thought out, of creating an artificial area of the city, completely out of sync with the surrounding urban fabric and therefore not “connectable”.

We affirmed the connection by the choice of the main material used in the building: glass. Glass, a modern material, shelters and protects, but reflects and is transparent. Its pure lines support the design, its extraordinary properties reinforce the modern architecture of a modern CCI.