Quartier Dessaix
Thonon-les-Bains, France
Developer: TERRITOIRES 38
Co-developers: PITCH PROMOTION / IMAPRIM
Architect: WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS ARCHITECTES
Construction Project Management: ARCH’20
Engineering (HQE / MEP / VRD / Retail): TEM PARTNERS
Inspection Body: VERITAS
Structural Engineering: STEBAT
Landscape Architect: Neveux & Rouyer
35,045 sqm
Ongoing
Construction of a mixed-use development including 344 housing units, a senior residence with 95 units, a 3-star hotel with 88 rooms, 8 retail units, offices, and a healthcare facility
Located in a contemporary expansion area of Thonon-les-Bains’ city center, developed since the 1970s, the Quartier Dessaix project involves the construction of a mixed-use complex comprising housing, a senior residence, a 3-star hotel, retail spaces, offices, and a healthcare facility. Coherent and harmonious, this mixed-use program will serve as a landmark at the city entrance and as a link between the hypercenter and the new railway station.
The project’s surroundings feature varied and rhythmic architecture. Like a citadel, the block’s corners benefit from greater height. The project proposes a street frontage with horizontal treatments. This overall architectural composition emphasizes, from the entrance to Thonon, the perspective toward the historic center.
At the heart of the block lies a large garden, open to the public during the day. A true “piece of nature in the city,” it is both protected by its central position and connected to pedestrian pathways used by local residents.
Along the street, façades are hierarchized, with loggias and, in the foreground, natural stone cladding. In harmony with this material, the vertical reveals, ceilings, and back walls of the loggias are finished in light-colored render. Metalwork elements, sheet metal, and joinery are finished with dark powder-coated paint. On the garden side, the bright façades are treated with light render, with continuous balconies painted on the underside.
The landmark building—a 3-star hotel marking the block from the hypercenter—stands out due to its height and lighter-colored stone. The top floors, over two levels, are covered with a solid timber structure incorporating photovoltaic panels.
