Unimpeded Alpine views at any time of day and excellent energy efficiency: welcome to the Geneva Marriott Hotel!

After four years of construction, the Geneva Marriott Hotel in the district of Meyrin opened on July 18, 2022. With its “four star plus” business class standard and proximity to Geneva Airport and the Palexpo International Exhibition and Convention Center, it is already a sought-after hotel destination. Over a total of 11 levels, the hotel boasts 263 guest rooms, including 23 suites, with views of the nearby Alps all the way to Mont Blanc. Alongside the magnificent Great Room in the entrance area, the hotel is also home to conference and meeting rooms, a ballroom, a restaurant and a bar that are open to the public, a fitness room, an executive lounge and the M Club.

A meeting place for business travelers and tourists

Geneva-based MaS architects Jean Serrano and Christophe Marti took advantage of the site’s gradient and placed a large two-story entrance area beneath an L-shaped building that is home to the guest bedrooms. On the ground floor of the central entrance hall, you will find the Great Room with the reception and lounge, a VIP lounge, a bar and a restaurant on an area spanning around 1,800 square meters. Above this lies the conference floor with six different sized spaces for conferences and seminars and an events ballroom with capacity for 350 people. Four other levels in the basement section serve as an underground car park and a technical unit. The upper stories are home to the hotel rooms and suites and a large 24-hour gym.

Aesthetic elegance in industrial design

The renowned design firm Living Design was commissioned to handle the hotel’s interior. Geneva’s industrial past is a recurring theme throughout the hotel’s design concept. Large-scale murals, technical drawings and refined decorations create a distinctive atmosphere and make visiting the public meeting and lounge areas a unique experience for every guest. The hotel rooms are exceptionally refined. They have been equipped with elegant designer furniture and sophisticated materials.

Sustainability and energy efficiency

The sustainability concept of the Geneva Marriott Hotel is based on Marriott International’s objectives for a more ethical form of production and consumption. This states that, by 2025, water use, carbon footprints and raw material and food waste should be drastically reduced in hotels. Accordingly, in Geneva, environmental considerations and sustainable solutions were already an aspect of planning from the outset and targeted high energy efficiency for the building shell as well as operating the hotel. Unusual measures such as cooling the building with ground water pumps and internal waste recycling also come into play. As a result, the Marriott Hotel was awarded the prize for “Best Sustainable Action” at the Hospitality Awards in Paris in November 2022.

Daylight for full views of the Alps

The sleek facade highlights the use of the building, visible for miles around, as a hotel. This is particularly true of the L-shaped tower with its window ribbons, featuring alternating windows and dark glass paneling. In the entrance hall, the architects opted for glazing on two stories with floor-to-ceiling windows. Maximum incident daylight and energy-efficient sunlight management were therefore a declared objective when selecting the glazing.

Harmony, an electrochromic glass from SageGlass, was selected based on comfort and highly practical considerations: the smart window tints automatically as needed to avoid heat and glare. With its gradual tinting, however, SageGlass Harmony offers more than just excellent solar shading. It also guarantees a constantly unimpeded view of the outdoors – which is a big plus for the south-facing hotel rooms with views of the Alps. The hotel was also able to dispense with maintenance-intensive shading systems. Indeed, on the upper stories of the building, using external roller shutters as solar shading would have been out of the question due to the wind conditions. In the public areas of the entrance hall and conference floor, SageGlass Harmony stood out in particular thanks to its excellent color rendering. Last but not least, the smart window makes a major contribution to the building’s good energy performance with average energy savings of 10 to 20%. 

About SageGlass

SageGlass^® helps create low-carbon buildings that enhance occupant wellness by delivering the world’s best smart windows. Our electrochromic glass tints and clears automatically, optimizing both light and thermal comfort in a space - no need for blinds or shades. With SageGlass smart windows, your buildings can feature a lot of windows, without compromising on energy efficiency and performance. 

As the global leader in smart window technology, SageGlass has partnered with building owners, developers and architects on over 1,500 installations worldwide. Owned by Saint-Gobain, the world leader in light and sustainable construction, SageGlass is part of a group with over 350 years of building science and glass experience. 

For more information, please visit www.sageglass.com. 

About Saint-Gobain

Worldwide leader in light and sustainable construction, Saint-Gobain designs, manufactures, and distributes materials and services for the construction and industrial markets. Its integrated solutions for the renovation of public and private buildings, light construction, and the decarbonization of construction and industry are developed through a continuous innovation process and provide sustainability and performance. The group's commitment is guided by its purpose, "MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER HOME."

• €51.2 billion in sales in 2022     
• 168,000 employees, located in 75 countries     
• Committed to achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2050 

For more details on Saint-Gobain, visit http://www.saint-gobain.com and follow us on Twitter @saintgobain.

About Marriott Hotels®

With more than 600 hotels and resorts in over 65 countries and territories around the world, Marriott Hotels continues to elevate the art of hosting – placing people first is the brand’s living legacy – ensuring guests always feel deeply cared for throughout their stay. Marriott Hotels raises the bar by consistently delivering heartfelt service, with modern, comfortable spaces, and by providing experiences elevated beyond the everyday. As global travelers needs and expectations evolve, so does Marriott Hotels, leading the industry with innovations including the Greatroom lobby and Mobile Guest Services that elevate style and design, and technology. For more information, please visit www.marriotthotels.com, and stay connected on Facebook, @marriott on Twitter, and @marriotthotels on Instagram. Marriott Hotels is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy®, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments, and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit marriottbonvoy.com.

Project information

Project: Geneva Marriott Hotel

Location: Chemin Du Ruisseau 1, 1217 Geneva, Switzerland

Client: AC Immo SA, Carouge

Architecture: MaS – architectes Sàrl, Geneva, Switzerland

Interior design: Living Design, Stockholm/Zurich/Cairo

Completed: 2022

Product: SageGlass Harmony©

Images

Illustrations

Photos: Marriott Hotel

The Geneva Marriott Hotel is close to Geneva Airport and is part of a new generation of Marriott hotels with high sustainability standards. The Marriott Group aims to achieve a more ethical form of production and consumption.  

The interior design is inspired by the pioneers of aviation and stylistic elements from the local watchmaking industry, as seen here in the lounge and cocktail bar in the hotel’s Great Room.

Harmony electrochromic glass from SageGlass was used to glaze the facades. Together with other building technology facilities, the smart window contributes to the building’s high level of energy efficiency.

 The electrochromic glass offers efficient solar shading in all guest rooms without a great deal of upkeep. The glass’s gradual tinting guarantees targeted glare control and unimpeded views of the outdoors.

The automatic and gradual tinting of Harmony electrochromic glass creates a pleasant atmosphere.