Dates : September 2022 - February 2023

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) commissioned urbz to lead a participatory approach to the development of a landscape plan and a preliminary design for the development of the organisations' park, opening it up to community use and ensuring the well-being of its staff. The project was developed in interaction with IFRC staff, local residents, schoolchildren, local associations, specialist technical expertise and numerous departments of the Confederation and the City and Canton of Geneva.

The process was strongly motivated by environmental factors and recognition of the existing value of the green spaces, which have evolved over time, building on the heritage of their origins as part of an estate with a manor house. The site represents great heritage value for the centre of the village of Petit Saconnex, with its historic gates opening onto the Place du Village, a symbol of the area's identity.  The site also represents immense heritage value for Geneva and Switzerland, which is still alive as the headquarters of the IFRC since 1959, an organisation that is both local and international.

Cross-referencing information relating to heritage (landscape and built heritage) and biodiversity, as well as identifying existing uses and the needs and desires of IFRC staff and the surrounding community, enabled a programme and development principles to be drawn up, which served as a framework for drawing up a landscape plan and a preliminary project.

www.ifrcpark.ch