Geneva international school breaks new ground

Bullish even in times of crisis, Ecolint that comprises three campuses – La Boissière in addition to Campus des Nations and La Châtaigneraie – embarks on a new construction project that will increase its count of students from 4,000 to 4,500 over the next three years.

The construction project is for La Châtaigneraie campus (commonly referred to as ‘La Chat’) in Founex, 20 minutes from Geneva and 40 minutes from Lausanne.

"Expansion on that campus has been an objective for a long time," Michaelene Stack, Ecolint’s director of development points out "since the site is squeezed and we really need to get rid of the porta-cabins that have been ‘temporary’ for the last ten years."

"Furthermore, we have experienced an increase in demand from Vaud, especially from the companies recently installed along the motorway between Geneva and Nyon."

The new building for primary students will include 27 classrooms, specialty art and language facilities, a cafeteria and a state-of-the-art 200-seat auditorium in a compact, rectangular design pierced by a large atrium flooded by daylight.

Design of new primary building for Ecolint’s La Châtaigneraie campus in Founex, J.B-Ferrari & Associés SA

The present primary building will be transformed and renovated to accommodate secondary classes, with the addition of an extra floor.

In total the plan calls for an expansion of the current La Châtaigneraie enrolment from 1,200 to 1,700 students with the increase divided almost equally between secondary and primary.

"But the rationale is not just one of expansion," Stack insists, "because we are seizing this opportunity to rethink some of the curriculum, particularly with respect to the bilingual programme in primary, as well as considering more extensive options for the IB programme in secondary."

Campus director Michel Chinal, who is largely credited with being the driving force behind the plan, says that he is "incredibly happy that we are now breaking ground."

Chinal has been working on the project for the last ten years, although he insists on also giving credit to the governing board of the Foundation of the International School of Geneva and Ecolint’s development office for the financing, as well as communal and cantonal authorities for their assistance in obtaining the permits in record time.

"The final stages went extremely quickly," says Sébastien Zwissig, the lead architect from J.B-Ferrari & Associés SA responsible for designing the project, "although the land purchased for the new building needed a new zoning plan, which initially met with 12 oppositions."

But negotiations, led by Chinal and the Founex authorities, with the apprehensive neighbours to limit nuisances resulted in concerns being dropped.

"Then the building permit breezed through with not a single opposition," Zwissig adds. The entire process took only three months "which is unheard of in Switzerland."

J.B-Ferrari architects worked closely with Ecolint to come up with the design. The primary concern was sustainability, which explains the compact footprint of the building.

"The complexity was to fit into a tight rectangle a variety of spaces with different functions But by piling the auditorium on top of the gym, we were able to find solutions," Zwissig underlines.

"We had the future users already on site, which is very unusual," he adds, "so we were able to consult with them regularly. It has been very interesting listening to the teachers."

For example, the central atrium has been created to serve as a well of light, but also as a central social point, with very few blind spots where children can hide.

Asked whether open stairwells were not a danger with young children, the architect responded that the planned barriers will be even higher than those imposed by Swiss law.

To absorb the high sound levels of noisy children, the walls and ceilings will be fitted with absorbent coverings.

As for the cafeteria for 325 students, it has been conceived in collaboration with the catering company Novae that already holds the contracts for the other campus cafeterias "because Ecolint is so happy with them," the architect says.

The expansion will be financed through a combination of philanthropic donations, notably from the multinationals in Vaud, as well as bank loans which, Stack says, were not a problem to obtain, "since the additional capacity will generate new income".

"We do not view the expansion as a risk at all," Stack repeats. "There has been no drop-off in demand, quite the contrary."

"With a new influx of teachers and bilingual students, we’re also engaging in furthering the quality of our school," she concludes.