VIP pavilion for Geneva Airport

Elevated Design
To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of glamorous air travel are greatly exaggerated. Particularly when it comes to the revolving door that is Geneva, with its legion of international organisations and steady flow of diplomatic traffic. 

When planning a new stand-alone VIP lounge pavilion at the Swiss city’s busy airport – to replace an existing and rather outdated structure – the in-house architects turned to Frédéric Dedelley to define the interiors concept: one that would evoke the considered feeling of a members’ club, meeting the expectations of high-net-worth passengers, while at the same time respecting the all-important nuances of diplomatic, and where necessary royal, protocol.
 
Act global, sit local
From the outset, Dedelley wanted to use the opportunity to create an environment that not only offered its globe-trotting users an immediate sense of comfort, but one which also served a rhetorical function – acting as a piece of national-brand place-making. Here, its quality materials, colours and textures would communicate a series of clever cues to Switzerland’s natural, and specifically alpine, landscape. “Metaphor is important to me,” the designer explains. “I wanted to lend the pavilion a specificity, to create a subtle kind of Swissness in a very international context.”

Passengers are greeted underfoot by green-and-white terrazzo, suggestive of the minerality of the mountains, while the generous use of solid oak – deployed both for the space’s specially commissioned lounge furniture and for its furniture-like central module (housing food-preparation station, lavatories and storage) – makes reference to the country’s abundant arboreal assets. 

Textiles, in the form of finely textured upholstery and geometrically patterned rugs, with their colour palette of greens and reds redolent of the changing seasons and alpine flora, help to elaborate the scheme further; while wall surfaces are dressed with a bespoke wallpaper that features a delicately drawn cloud motif – alluding at once to the high altitude of mountain panoramas and of aviation, and functioning as a nod to Geneva Airport’s very own visual identity, too. 
 
Some are more equal than others
A clear and legible spatial organisation is key to the successful functioning of the new VIP lounge. It consists of two distinct seating areas – divided in part by the aforementioned oak-panelled facilities module – which permits the simultaneous accommodation of different parties. Two sliding oak screens allow for complete separation and privacy, should cultural, political or diplomatic sensitivities require two groups of passengers to be kept fully apart. 

The design and organisation of the furniture also performs a vital role here. Inspired in part by 20th-century Swiss design and by post-war Danish classics, and produced by Swiss manufacturer Girsberger’s Customized Furniture department, Dedelley’s specially created family of sofas, armchairs and standing tables mirrors the hierarchy of the diplomatic world, allowing it to be neatly performed within the space. “I wanted the lounge to be clearly organised and self-explanatory. The most important person within a party, for example, able to occupy a three-seater sofa on their own.” 

With the VIP pavilion recently opened and in full operation, Switzerland has a new architectural business card that certainly leaves its mark. 

Interior Design: Frédéric Dedelley – Product Designer ACCD(E)
Architecture: Bassicarella Architectes SA

Client: Département Infrastructures Genève Aéroport