AIR / Plaine de l’aire masterplan Geneve

Located at the junction of three distinct forms of development – rural, suburban, and industrial – the challenge of developing the Cherpines site is to retain something of all three while creating something new. Rather than developing the site along standard zoning guidelines, with buffers promoting physical and social segregation, we propose a more integrated gradient of building sizes in order to promote a smoother programmatic transition from the industrial area of Ziplo to the low density housing and farming communities. This simple gesture has several benefits. It distributes a large variation of housing types across the site. It encourages a diversity and mix of inhabitants and user groups that leads to a more socially sustainable community. And finally it allocates a finer grain of buildings and open spaces near the river. Our sustainable concept is to deploy a series of strategies that all add up to something meaningful, as opposed to having only one energy source gimmick which will solve all of the problems. It is not an ideal location for just solar, just wind, or just geothermal energy to be harnessed. Therefore, a combination of both passive and active approaches to energy efficiency, water remediation, green living, social sustainability, and smart transport is adopted.