Mud bricks from the excavation pit
School Building in Geneva by David Reffo
© Olivier Chamard
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A new school building has been erected in Geneva's Parc Geisendorf, using material from the construction pit to make mud bricks for the load-bearing walls. The blocks were compressed and dried directly at the building site, thus avoiding CO2 emissions for delivery of the construction material and hauling the excavated soil away in long truck journeys – a win-win situation in both respects.
© Olivier Chamard
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
The five-storey new-build complements a loosely grouped school ensemble of five pavilions built by Georges Brera and Paul Waltenspühl in the public park in the 1950s. Pupils can pursue cross-curricular activities and have lunch in the new pavilion, which also acts as a community centre for people living nearby.
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The building is made up of four sections grouped around a central area, like the sails on a windmill. In a first for Switzerland, the load-bearing walls are built of unfired mud bricks. These were produced at the construction site in a process that took half a year altogether. Using a mobile hydraulic press, five workers turned 110 m³ of loam into bricks in two months, after which the 22 000 elements were stored at the old schoolyard to dry out evenly and slowly under plastic sheeting. As part of an experiential education programme, some the school pupils were able to join in and lend a hand in making the bricks.
© David Reffo
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The mud bricks rest on a base of reinforced concrete and are laid in a cross bond. Posts and lintels in ash wood ensure that compressive forces are evenly distributed and that only vertical forces act on the bricks.
© Olivier Chamard
© Olivier Chamard
Lorem Ipsum: Zwischenüberschrift
Loam was also added to the lime-cement mortar for the joints, lending the walls a uniform hue. The fair face brickwork was washed over with a sponge on completion and when light shines on it, is seen to have a silky sheen.
© Didier Jorden
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The walls have a faintly earthy fragrance and also a pleasant effect on the indoor climate by absorbing humidity in the air like a sponge and releasing it again slowly.
Read more in Detail 11.2022 and in our databank Detail Inspiration.
Architecture: David Reffo
Client: Ville de Genève
Location: Rue Lamartine 14A, Genf (CH)
Structural engineering: Ratio-Bois, Studio Guscio, Normal Office
Landscape architecture: Klaus Holzhausen
Site management: Girani & Perrillat
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