Geneva is a city of water where the lake and the Rhône shape a unique landscape, offering an exceptional setting at the heart of the city.
Its islands and banks form a remarkable natural and urban heritage, ideal for meeting and strolling. Enhancing the Rhône axis gives meaning to the city, reconciles its banks, and strengthens the bond between the city and its river. Celebrating water means restoring its full place to create a living, inclusive connection.
By placing the Rhône at the heart of urban life, the initiative seeks to reconnect the city, its river, and its residents. Far more than a simple development, it is an ambitious vision for Geneva: unifying, rooted in its history, and looking to the future.
By revealing new living places along the Rhône, the aim is to affirm its structuring role at the heart of the city. Promenades, belvederes, and squares resonate with the river, offering spaces for contemplation and encounter within an urban setting elevated by water and greenery.
The project is part of a large-scale ambition, weaving a fluid link from the Jet d’eau to the tip of La Jonction — and tomorrow as far as the PAV. It highlights a path along both banks of the Rhône.
It aspires to root citizens in their natural and cultural environment by drawing a clear and coherent axis.
The proposed transformations highlight the connections between the Rhône islands. They propose new routes dedicated to soft mobility, while building on existing projects such as the Halles de l’Île and the Pont des Bergues.
At the heart of the scheme, the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices (BFM) stands as an essential hinge, weaving the link between the archipelago and the banks. A true connecting element, it links its immediate surroundings to the rest of the territory, underscoring the distinctiveness of the landscape.
By reconnecting the city to the river that forms its backbone, this vision offers a new radiant and inclusive space, reflecting a Geneva looking to the future.
Force motrice
BFM building to reconnect
Connecting link – Cultural banks to be developed
Banks of La Jonction and its ongoing plans
Urban riverbanks and their plans
Projects / plans underway
Major views
The Bâtiment des Forces Motrices (BFM), located in the heart of Geneva and set on the Rhône, is an exceptional heritage monument and a witness to the city’s industrial history. Today, it offers a unique opportunity to create an inclusive, dynamic, and unifying space.
BFM building to reconnect
Creating new relationships with the water, on a balcony facing the BFM
Greening the riverbanks
Opening the BFM via Place des Volontaires
Opening the BFM footbridge to the public
Creating a new footbridge close to the water
Opening the BFM via the Lavandières promenade
Creating a new footbridge