Located along the Route de la Coula, right in the center of the town of Châtel-St-Denis, the Raiffeisen bank branch for the south of the canton of Fribourg will be setting up its new quarters here.
Derived from a housing project developed by and for a private developer, the adaptation for a two-storey bank use significantly altered the building's morphology. As owner of the entire building, the Raiffeisen bank shared with the architects its desire to create a building that would reflect the image and value of its function.
The building blends into the slope of the site thanks to its half-level geometry, following the gradient of Chemin du Tilleul to the east. Its relationship to the built environment is ensured by its cut-out volume and facades. The program structures the first two levels for bank premises and the second two for 4 apartments. An 11-space parking lot and cellar and technical rooms are located underground.
The desire to break away from the facade of a multi-family dwelling is reflected in the use of ceramic materials, punctuated by generous openings. Large balconies lighten the building's strategic angles, offering future occupants generous open spaces.
The building is elegant and coherent, but without artifice. The mineral tones and materials of the perforated facades contrast with the gold-tinted metalwork, unpretentiously emphasizing the solids and voids and bringing a sparkle to the whole.
