On the shores of Lake Geneva, architects Didier Jolimay and Andrea Lebel constructed two steel buildings on stilts, using stainless steel ropes and nets from Jakob Rope Systems to cover large areas and define interior and exterior spaces. This combination allows for a transparent and translucent architectural style.

The first building, a fishing house, provides workspace for Geneva’s professional fishermen. It’s a single-story structure with a canopy extending far over the water. The steel construction with integrated net elements (sleeveless Webnet) on the outer walls offers views while separating the fishermen’s workspace from the public lakeshore area.

The second steel building is a restaurant on a spacious, open platform. The architects utilized Webnet as a facade element across large surfaces, creating light and permeable covered areas. Tensioned ropes along the terrace provide a discreet barrier to the water, maintaining maximum transparency—an important detail in the architects’ planning.

Steel, rope, and net structures connect both buildings, allowing them to harmoniously blend into the surrounding lake and shore landscape. As you approach the steel structures, both buildings offer views in and out. The delicate stainless steel nets and cables serve as separators between the interior and exterior, creating an airy building envelope for climbing plants and a surprisingly light and discreet parapet to prevent falls into the water.

In 2020, the Swiss magazine Hochparterre recognized the architecture of these two buildings with a Silver Hare award.

Jakob products and services:

• – Delivery and assembly of stainless steel ropes and Webnet elements
• – In advance, practical tests for the installation of the railing ropes for the determination of the prestressing forces