Herzog & de Meuron completes One Roof headquarters for Swiss bank on Lake Geneva

Curved, glazed facades lined with slim columns characterise the headquarters of Swiss private bank Lombard Odier in Geneva, designed by architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron to evoke a sense of transparency.

Named One Roof, the office building is located north of the city centre next to a train station and overlooks Lake Geneva through its expansive glass facades.

"We were triggered to say, how transparent can a bank be today?" Herzog & de Meuron partner Christine Binswanger told Dezeen.

"Why should you enclose the people? You have to enclose and secure the gold, but not the people," she continued. "As important as the transparency from inside out was, we also wanted to maximise the perception of the landscape."

The building's facades swoop towards Lake Geneva, with curved concrete slabs that protrude from the glazed building envelope to shade internal spaces and outdoor terraces.

Slim white-steel columns support the slabs and are designed to blend in with other vertical elements, such as rainwater pipes and guides for fabric blinds.

Herzog & de Meuron designed One Roof to have no distinct front or back, applying a similar design to every facade and adding entrances to each side.

"It's an effort to design a facade," said Binswanger. "If you find one that works for all sides, it's a more relaxed building."

"Of course, we do buildings that have front and backs in a city context, but this has to do with it being a free-standing building – there's nothing it relates to," added Binswanger.

"We have multiple entries, which is great because it means it's open to all sides – it's not saying someone works in the back," she continued. "They all have the same conditions, but through the shape, every side looks different."

Accommodating up to 2,600 workers, including Lombard Odier's 2,000 employees that were previously working across six sites in Geneva, OneRoof's interior spaces aim to foster collaboration.

A central leaf-shaped atrium floods the building with natural light, illuminating meeting rooms that surround it.

Spaces accessible to clients are placed at the lake-facing side of the building and have interiors designed by French interior designer Rodolphe Parente. This includes a client entrance lobby on the ground floor.

Above, double-height collaborative meeting rooms, a restaurant and client meeting rooms have views across Lake Geneva.

At the other end of the building, an auditorium on the ground floor provides space for talks and casual meetings, and opens onto an outdoor amphitheatre.

Elsewhere in One Roof is an underground gym and a cafe with an extended outdoor terrace.

Solar panels were placed on the rooftop, and water pumped from Lake Geneva is used to heat and cool the building.

Other buildings recently completed by Herzog & de Meuron include high-rise laboratories for the Pharma Research and Early Development Centre in Basel and a children's hospital in Zurich designed to function like a town.

The photography is by Maris Mezulis unless otherwise stated.

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