Nestlé WellNes Centre

This project for the Nestlé Headquarters was motivated by the company's desire to replace the existing dining facilities and to provide its collaborators with a new restaurant and other amenities representative of the company's vision and leading position in the nutrition industry. Located at the east end of the lakefront site, the new building's position, as well as the landscape design associated with the project, expand the park toward the west. This positioning was intended to preserve and extend the most striking part of the site.

The top floor houses a restaurant and kitchen, and the ground floor, a cafeteria with food preparation areas. At the lower ground level are meeting and gathering rooms in addition to a gym and a small medical center. Echoing the curved form of Tschumi's Y-shaped building, the new restaurant's circular shape and glass curtain facade - completely open to the surrounding site - creates optimum conditions for circulation and takes advantage of the spectacular views. All of the tables are oriented toward the perimeter of the restaurant, and thus capture views toward the park, the lake, and the Alps in the distant background. At the heart of the building, an ample spiral staircase invokes Tschumi's double-spiral "Chambord" staircase as it connects all three levels. Two staircases and an elevator complete the circulation scheme. Concrete pillars that support exposed concrete slabs and the asymmetrical metal roof canopy contribute equally to the essentially contemporary architectural expression of the building, at the same time paying homage to Tschumi's original project.