Airport jetty by RSHP provides a polychromatic welcome to Switzerland
The Aile Est, or East Wing, at Geneva Airport, a dramatic, polychromatic jetty, is the newest project by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners in Switzerland
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- (opens in new tab)
- Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

This major new transport project by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was completed just days before the death of its founder, Richard Rogers (opens in new tab), late last year. The Aile Est (East Wing) at Geneva Airport is a monumental new addition to the Swiss facility. RSHP worked closely with the Jacques Bugna architecture studio in Geneva, as well as the engineering offices Ingérop in Paris and T-Ingénierie in Geneva to steer this project to completion, some ten years after it was originally conceived.
Superficially, this is a building that’s all about colour, or at least that’s what passengers will perceive. Just like the practice’s Terminal 4 at Madrid’s Barajas Airport, with its rhythmically shifting hues, the new East Wing uses colour as a means of subdividing and enlivening the vast space.
Behind the scenes, there is an awful lot more going on. For a start, the building is designed to be energy positive, a hugely ambitious goal given the size of the space and its 20,000 sq m of façades. In addition, the 520m-long building contains 7,000 tonnes of steel.
All this structure is put to good use. The terminal has a parallelogram-shaped cross section that is bisected by the inverted pyramid forms of the mighty steel frame, which elevates it up off the ground, as well as supporting both floors and the roof. Up here you’ll find over 7,000 sq m of photovoltaics, which are paired with 110 geothermal piles that plunge down to 300m below the ground to source thermal energy.
Those expansive windows are triple glazed, with shutters for additional solar shading. The terminal will eventually tap into the existing GeniLac hydrothermal system, which uses the waters of Lake Geneva to heat and cool the city’s buildings.
All that space serves six aircraft stands, and represents a major upgrade on facilities that were initially installed as a temporary measure built to accommodate the then relatively new Boeing 747. Since the Geneva project was originally conceived, the Jumbo’s natural successor, the A380, entered and left production, and the aviation market endured a 60 per cent market dip due to the pandemic.
Nevertheless, the new building still made economic and environmental sense for the airport.
Each hour, there’s room for 2,800 passengers to leave and 3,000 to arrive, their journeys guided by the colour-coded elements.
The terminal’s steel frame and structural elements are painted in two shades of grey, pairing with the natural stone flooring and the light flooding in through the vast windows to minimise the need for artificial illumination. Each 80m module is then given a different unifying colour for the seating and ceiling elements.
The project broke ground in 2012, starting with the construction of the geothermal piles. This was followed by the construction of a new road tunnel and technical basements, then the demolition and relocation of existing services before the main new East Wing jetty could be built and fitted out.
The latter process ran from April 2017 to July 2021, during which time the airport had to remain operational, a major logistical challenge for the design and construction teams.
Finally, there is the view. Raised up above the tarmac, the East Wing not only gives passengers an impressive view of their aircraft, but showcases the Jura Mountains in the north, welcoming visitors to Switzerland’s spectacular landscape.
A cross-section through the new jetty showing the arrangement of the steel structure
INFORMATION
rsh-p.com (opens in new tab)
bugna.ch (opens in new tab)
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
Apartment interior design: outstanding spaces around the globe
Apartment interiors can be tricky to balance. Create a sense of space and get inspired by our global edit of architect-designed ideas. From minimalist mezzanines and lofts that bridge old and new, to sleek urban penthouses and dramatic transformations
By Ellie Stathaki • Published
-
Zegna’s ‘Triple Stitch’ sneaker captures the house’s 112 years of innovation
Zegna’s signature ‘Triple Stitch’ sneaker returns for S/S 2023, now available in luxurious fabrications – from grained leather to canvas and soft suede
By Jack Moss • Published
-
We’re waxing lyrical over these luxury candles
At a loss when it comes to finding the perfect indulgence or gift? Explore our edit of luxury candles for some bright ideas
By Mary Cleary • Published
-
Heir lift: a Swiss architect rebuilds a family legacy in St Moritz
By Sophie Lovell • Published
-
RSHP: a new name for a new era of collaborative design
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners rebrands as RSHP, heralding a new era of collaborative design for the architecture practice, following Richard Roger's passing in 2021
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated
-
Cascading terraces define this concrete apartment building in Basel
A minimalist concrete apartment building in Switzerland features cascading terraces to a design by architects KohlerStraumann
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated
-
Remembering Richard Rogers (1933 – 2021)
We celebrate the life and career of Richard Rogers, one of the most influential architects of our era and winner of the 2007 Pritzker Prize, who passed away on 18 December 2021 at age 88
By Jonathan Bell • Last updated
-
Audemars Piguet factory completes in the Jura mountains
Kuník de Morsier architects is behind the brand new addition to the Audemars Piguet headquarters complex in Switzerland, the Manufacture des Saignoles
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Roche Pharmaceuticals’ new workspace is ‘industrial palazzo’
Roche Pharmaceuticals gets a new multifunctional workspace for their Grenzach-Wyhlen campus, designed by Swiss architecture studio Christ & Gantenbein
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
No. 33 Park Row: RSHP's first New York residential project completes
No. 33 Park Row is Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners' first foray into residential architecture in New York
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated
-
Herzog & de Meuron renovate Basel’s iconic Volkshaus hotel
Herzog & de Meuron completes Switzerland's latest boutique hotel, the Volkshaus, in Basel, reviving, at the same time, a landmark part of the city
By Ellie Stathaki • Last updated