Studio tutor : Leonid Slominsky – Kosmos Architects

Assistant : Bertrand Van Dorp

This studio project focuses on a historic hotel renovation project in St Cergue, a small town in the Jura mountains. The site of the project is a historic building, the “Grand Hotel Observatoire St Cergue”, which was built in the early 20th century and which, after several transformations in the 70s, was half-abandoned. Situated at the top of a hill with unique views of Lake Geneva, the building is an exceptional architectural work which is waiting to be re-discovered.

The ground floor, garden and basement of the building are currently in ruins. These are the main areas of interest for the project.

After a critical research phase on the contemporary tourism industry and new models of sustainable tourism and accommodation combined with work, production, agriculture, art, culture and health care, seven groups of first year students will offer different visions of the site. They are invited to offer their own programme for the building as well as a sustainable and local architectural solution. The existing hotel’s historical layers are major elements in the project and each team will view them differently, from careful preservation to radical transformation.