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GREEK
MYTHOLOGY
THE LEGEND OF HIPPOMENES
The Greek legend of Hippomenes
recounts how the young huntress
Atalanta was obliged by her father to
take a husband. She agreed to marry the
first man to outrun her. All her suitors
perished until Hippomenes decided to
try his luck. With the help of Aphrodite,
Hippomenes dropped three golden apples
during the race to distract Atalanta.
Because she stopped to pick up the
apples, she lost the race and gave her
hand in marriage to Hippomenes.
The leading Geneva banker and lover
of football, Gustave Hentsch, created
the Hippomenes Foundation in 1943
to support the development of sporting
activities in the Geneva canton,in
recognition of Hippomenes’ will to win.
INDUSTRIAL
HERITAGE
THE PIC-PIC CAR
The Charmilles district was a favorite
leisure destination of the inhabitants
of Geneva in the 19th century, but later
became a major site of industrial and
manufacturing activity. In 1919, the
Piccard, Pictet & Cie factory started
making the famous Pic-Pic car in the
emblematic building of the same name
that was built in 1917 by the architects
Guillaume Revilliod and Maurice Turrettini.
But the costly vehicle was simply too
expensive for the post-war period and
production was halted soon after the
company went bankrupt in 1921.
In 1921 the Ateliers des Charmilles
SA was founded, specializing in the
machining and sale of hydraulic turbines.
HAUTE COUTURE
THE ELNA SEWING MACHINE
In 1934, Tavaro SA moved into the
buildings that had been left empty
by Piccard, Pictet & Cie. In 1940,
the company started manufacturing
the Elna sewing machine, which had
been produced by a small company in
Châtelaine for the two previous years.
The first machine was invented by Ramon
Casas, a refugee Spanish engineer who
had fled to Switzerland. As he took an
old model apart in order to repair it,
the young graduate was seized by an
urge to make it better. The result was
revolutionary. Unlike the gloss black
machines with gold decorations that had
been the tradition since the beginning of
the century, the Elna was as green as a
grasshopper, which became the machine’s
nickname in America. While other leading
manufacturers offered machines derived
from professional models, the Elna was
designed to be portable and practical
enough for use in the home only.
URBAN CHARACTER
THE TAVARO FACTORY
HAUTE COUTURE
The Tavaro factory was built in 1946
by Jean Erb, one of the most prolific
industrial architects of the 1940s and
1950s. Designed specially for the
manufacture of Elna sewing machines,
the site included a building for technical
and administrative departments as
well as production workshops.
The architecture draws inspiration from the
rationalist style, which also influenced Jean
Erb in the design of the site of the HispanoSuiza society. The composition is inspired
by modernist influences, combining spaces
with large bay windows and long glazed
sections and highlighting the contrast
between solid and
hollow forms.
URBAN CHARACTER
MODERNIST
ARCHITECTURE
THE ELNA
ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING
Tavaro SA decided to construct a
building for the factory’s administrative
departments. In a competition held in
1956 that pitched Suter & Suter against
Ernest Martin and Georges Addor, the
latter’s project was selected and went on
to win the first prize for architecture. The
modernist construction became the Elna
brand’s international showcase, and is
now one of the most interesting examples
of 1950s post-industrial architecture in
Geneva. Today, the building has been
converted into offices and is the home
of the Bénédict Hentsch & Cie bank.
EVENTS CENTER
GREEN SPACES
THE GUSTAVE
AND LEONARD HENTSCH PARK
THE ESPACE HIPPOMENE
The Espace Hippomène, a prestige
center for events and culture capable
of welcoming up to 3,500 people, was
inaugurated in 2008 as part of the
conversion of the former Tavaro factory.
The renovation project has respected
the initial style of the building, which
was strongly influenced by the Bauhaus
movement. The main machine room
and the three floors of workshops
in the adjacent building have been
fully converted and adapted to the
needs of a multifunctional venue for
events. The Geneva-based architects
Ris_Chabloz used raw materials such
as steel and concrete in a pure design
that respects the industrial characterof
the building down to the last detail.
The Gustave and Léonard Hentsch
Park project is the centerpiece of the
renewal of the Charmilles district in
Geneva. The Park will be located on
the site of the football ground that was
home to Servette FC for almost a century.
This vast area in the heart of a densely
populated district, will offer inhabitants
a 3.3 hectare haven of greenery and will
enhance the quality of life in the district,
while protecting its industrial heritage.
Following the renovation of the Elna
building and the Espace Hippomène,
the Park project will be completed by the
renovation and extension of the Pic-Pic
building and the construction of residential
buildings in 2013. This project has been
made possible by Bénédict Hentsch,
President of the Hippomenes Foundation.
GREEN SPACES
Design : blossom, Sophie Jaton / Photos and illustrations : DAEL – Service des monuments et des sites, Luca Fascini, Stéphane Gros, Martine Rascle, Imagina
Société d’exploitation
de l’Espace Hippomène SA
Avenue de Châtelaine 7
CH-1203 Genève
t +41 22 560 00 70
f +41 22 560 00 80
www.espacehippomene.ch