On the shore of Lake Geneva, with views stretching to the Alps and Mont Blanc, Herzog & de Meuron has completed the new headquarters for Lombard Odier. Marking the firm’s first building in French-speaking Switzerland, the project brings together six separate office sites into a single campus. Its undulating glazed facade introduces an architectural identity based around transparency for the centuries-old Swiss bank. Named “One Roof,” the headquarters integrates environmental, economic, and social sustainability to reduce operational carbon impact and reinforce a sense of organisational cohesion. The project is aiming to acheive SNBS Platine, Minergie-P, and BREEAM Outstanding.
“Lombard Odier’s new headquarters is unconventional in its dimensions as well as its design. From the outside, the building looks like a kind of ‘mille-feuilles’ with horizontal, unevenly shaped slabs; everything seems to float in a forest of white columns. From within, glass fronts offer views of the lake, sometimes even as far as Mont Blanc. It is an architecture that opens up to the outside – to the landscape, to the community, to clients– and also to the inside, to employees, by bringing everyone together under one roof.”
— Jacques Herzog
Exterior design
Designed to accommodate 2000 existing employees, and with the capacity to extend that number to 2600, the new building spans 60,000 square meters. The building’s curved facades provide sweeping views across the lake and onto the mountains behind.
The exterior is characterised by thin, curved slabs that cantilever out, providing passive sun shading for the glazed façades and offering a range of unique outdoor terraces. Slender, white columns support the terraces and blend with other vertical elements such as rainwater pipes and guides for the textile sun shading.
All fronts have been treated identically, there is no distinct front or back and there are entrances to the building on all sides. This creates what the architects describe as a “more relaxed” building, that gives the idea of transparency in banking physical form.
Interior floorplan
Spaces accessible to the clients occupy the lake-facing side of the building. Clients enter the building through a dramatic security door emblazoned with eight large bronze-toned fleurons that make up the bank’s logo. Inside, a lobby welcomes visitors with deep warm tones. Above this space are double-height meeting rooms, dining options, auditorium and client meeting rooms.
“Like a Greek amphitheater, the daylit auditorium opens to the garden. The space accommodates more than 500 guests, with individual seating arranged in the front section, gradually transitioning to a more casual arrangement of built-in benches and integrated occasional tables at the back. This design allows the back zone to function as a flexible area for impromptu gatherings and small meetings when the auditorium is not hosting larger events.”
— Herzog & de Meuron
Health and wellbeing
The design of the interior has been arranged according to function and the health and wellbeing of staff. The floorplan features a range of work environments designed to meet differing needs of a new workforce with flexible working arrangements. The centre of the building has been carved out to form a leaf-shaped atrium that is topped with a vast elliptical skylight. At the edges of the atrium are glass-walled offices illuminated with natural light.
A fitness area provides employees with a space to recharge physically and mentally during the workday—with options for yoga classes and training available. Dining options include a bistrot, restaurant and cafeterias with wide terraces. Good is prepared in kitchens with lake views, an unexpected feature in what is usually an enclosed back-of-house space.
“Inside One Roof, a sequence of diverse spaces unfolds. Lombard Odier employees decide for themselves where and how they want to work. This large building facilitates both concentration and interaction, whether in meeting rooms, in the collaborative spaces with magnificent views of the lake, in one of the restaurants, or even in the auditorium where informal workspaces face the garden. A fitness center completes the offering, and of course the proximity to the lake is another asset for lunch breaks. The client areas are discreetly integrated, also oriented towards the lake to take advantage of the view.”
— Christine Binswanger
Construction
The building’s foundation is constructed from recycled concrete, and the structure incorporates locally sourced, sustainable materials. A regular column grid and clearly organised vertical circulation create a highly flexible structural framework, allowing interior layouts to be reconfigured without altering the building’s core structure. This allows the space to adapt over time as organisational needs change, or to accommodate multiple tenants with different spatial requirements. By supporting long-term adaptability and reducing the need for major demolition or reconstruction during future changes of use, the design helps minimise material waste and embodied carbon over the building’s lifecycle.
Renewable energy system
While around 50 trees were removed during site preparation, approximately 160 new trees have been planted, with irrigation supplied by harvested rainwater that is also reused in the bathrooms. On the roof, 700 square metres of solar panels contribute to a fully renewable energy supply, supported by the GeniLac system, which draws on water from Lake Geneva to provide heating and cooling.
Mobility strategy
Located adjacent to a train station and well-connected to the bicycle network, the building integrates extensive bicycle facilities, including parking for 444 bikes, along with electric vehicle charging points as part of a wider sustainable mobility strategy. These transport connections prioritise low-carbon commuting and reduce reliance on private cars.
“One Roof holds special significance for Herzog & de Meuron, as it is our first project in French-speaking Switzerland – and it is personally meaningful to me as well. We created the new headquarters for all employees who are relocating from different locations, most of them in the city center, transitioning from a centuries-old urban context to a largely untouched location on the shores of Lake Geneva. Through its elegant architectural presence, Lombard Odier’s new headquarters anchor the bank in the Geneva region while maintaining a strong connection with the city center through excellent public transport connections.”
— Pierre de Meuron
