Résidence Christinger — Natural architecture and independent senior living
A Swiss case study bringing together residential independence, natural materials and community life.
External case study — Independent architectural analysis by Bau Lütz
A project by acau architecture sa and the professionals listed below. Bau Lütz took no part in designing or constructing the building.
In Pregny-Chambésy, in the Canton of Geneva, the Résidence Christinger accommodates fifteen apartments for older people. It shows how residential architecture can retain a sense of home while creating opportunities to meet, through the relationship between independent dwellings, shared spaces and a garden.
A bequest becomes a public initiative
The project originated in Lucie Christinger’s bequest to the community. The municipality developed senior housing on the donated site in response to a local need. Its May–June 2025 bulletin announced the inauguration for 17 May; Structurame confirmed the opening on 20 May 2025.
A home around a patio
The central patio organises access to the apartments and connects shared facilities. A communal kitchen, library, exercise room, laundry and guest room offer additional uses while retaining private dwellings. The garden and pedestrian routes link the residence to the wider community.
Materials contribute to the climatic design
The documentation describes Swiss timber construction and an unheated patio outside the apartments’ thermal envelope. Unfired earth, solar gains, shading and natural ventilation contribute to this intermediate space’s climatic behaviour. Reused elements from the former villa connect the new building to the memory of the place.
Independence and relationships, with clear thresholds
In our architectural reading, the gradual transition from garden to patio, circulation and dwelling is particularly valuable. A shared space works when residents can choose how to use it: meet someone, pause or return home. Shared facilities alone do not demonstrate management outcomes or health benefits.
What this example teaches us
For Bau Lütz, studying a precedent means identifying useful questions, not reproducing its design. How much space should be shared? How can entrances remain legible? Which materials and passive strategies suit the site? Each answer requires specific checks: actual comfort, operating costs and user outcomes cannot be inferred from design intentions.
Project information
Location: Pregny-Chambésy, Canton of Geneva · chemin des Châtaigniers 22
Client: Municipality of Pregny-Chambésy
Architecture: acau architecture sa
Timber structures: Charpente-Concept sa
Concrete structures: Structurame sa
Landscape: adr architectes sa
Building physics: atba
Planning: 2021–2023
Construction: 2023–2025
In use since: 2025
Apartments: 15
Main materials: Swiss timber, unfired earth, terrazzo, concrete and reclaimed materials
Documentation and original photographs
Authentic photographs can be viewed in the architects’ documentation and the Prix SIA submission. Published credits name acau architecture / Fédéral Studio; drawings are credited to acau architecture sa.
Documentation consulted on 13 October 2026.
The original Bau Lütz Senior research programme
Bau Lütz Senior is our separate research programme for independent, accessible and ecological living. Christinger remains an external project with its own authors and context.
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