Living in Geneva in 2100

The design studio took place during the Autumn Semester 2024 , as part of the Master of Arts in Interior Architecture (MAIA) program. The studio was directed by Javier Fernández Contreras and led by Philippe Rahm (Philippe Rahm Architectes), with assistance from Valentin Calame (studio chaos).The following students participated in the studio: Navya Balakrishnan, Emma Canton, Cloé Eischen, David Röder, Ana Karina Zepeda Aranda, Hugo Maia Schmitt, Ailyn Pieyre, Célestine Potin, Martino De Grandis, Maxime Joost and Letizia Milone.

Global warming in Europe, with its effects in terms of heatwaves, droughts, floods, and their damaging consequences for life, is already being felt. It is projected to increase by another four degrees Celsius by 2100. The climate in Geneva at that time is not expected to resemble the current climate; instead, it will likely resemble that of Hamburg. Geneva itself is projected to experience a climate similar to that of Mexico, Japan, North Africa, or Sicily.

The studio «Living in Geneva in 2100» proposes acquiring practical knowledge of interior design tools to combat global warming by ensuring sustainable thermal living conditions in the face of summer heatwaves and winter cold. If the city is to remain livable, if living things are to survive, and if human beings are to continue living in Geneva in 2100, architecture and the city must already be conceived, adapted, and built with a climate similar to the one currently existing further south. Our project for MAIA, therefore, aims to study interior architecture and decoration suited to warmer Mediterranean, Central American, and Asian climates, and to imagine, propose, and test their immediate acclimatization for Swiss cities and culture, ensuring that life for humans, plants, and animals can still be possible in 2100.

The semester was divided into different phases, alternating between research and design. The program focused on living in Geneva and culminated in the creation of prototype decorative elements. 

The project by the HEAD MAIA Department of Interior Architecture (Master of Arts) was submitted in the Next Generation category of the Swiss Arc Award 2025 and published by Nina Farhumand.