L’Équerre d’argent , awarded to a project owner and project manager (the client and the architect) who have contributed to the construction of a building completed within the year on French soil, is not new. This is the 42nd César for architecture in France.^e edition. Although it is often a modest triumph, the prize awarded by the Monitor and AMC (two magazines at the cutting edge of the field, in charge of the award since 1983) has the merit of highlighting buildings that are important in our daily lives and reflect today’s urban planning and environmental concerns. Over the past few years, the Équerre d’Argent has tended to reflect the times. Priority to usefulness and use.

It also awards the equally crucial Prix de la première œuvre to a building designed by a promising talent, an architect under 35 years of age at the time of submission. This is a far cry from the achievements of the great architectural stars. It’s the terrain that counts, respect for the context and the way it’s understood. This is the true vocation of architecture, which crowns the humility of its projects, at the service of the public, without however preventing a grand gesture, full of generosity.

A spectacular work

After deliberation by the jury, chaired this year by Iwona Buczkowska, a French architect and urban planner of Polish origin, the prize was awarded on Monday evening to the rehabilitation of the upper station of the Haut Salev cable car in Haute-Savoie. This spectacular structure overlooks Lake Geneva and the city of Geneva, and was designed by the local cross-border cooperation group for the operation of the cable car and Devaux & Devaux Architectes, Claudia et David. Its incredible panoramic view more than merited a major architectural renovation.

The idea was to take over the station, built by Swiss architect Maurice Braillard and put into service in 1932 (it is listed as a Monument Historique), and restore its original parts, to better adapt them to new uses, including a restaurant (following the demolition of the old one, an ugly Swiss chalet), a terrace and an esplanade from which paragliders take off, not forgetting a well-integrated stair tower. ” They took a risk with this powerful and admirable project, careful down to the last detail, which clarified the site that was never really completed and butchered in the 80s. The whole thing is aesthetically pleasing. It’s perfectly set in a forest that will be replanted. “, underlined the jury.

Bordeaux, Bagneux, Laguiole

Among the other prizes, the one for Infrastructure and Engineering Works went to the 44-meter-wide Simone-Veil bridge and its connections in Bordeaux (Gironde), bordered by tree-lined plots designed by landscape architect Michel Desvignes, and conceived by Bordeaux Métropole and the OMA agency, a project that is visibly manifest. The Habitat project involves 76 social housing units and a community center in Bagneux (Hauts-de-Seine), designed by Immobilière 3F and architects Tolila+Gilliland: Tolila+Gilliland, whose work is much appreciated for its housing typology, not with double heights but with heights and a half, allowing ample living space, with large bay windows, wide landings, corridor staircases and fairly generous balconies. Not to mention structural brick facades in keeping with the spirit of the neighborhood.

L’Équerre Culture jeunesse et sport returns to Laguiole (kingdom of knives) by the community of Aubrac, Carladez et Viadène and architects Bétillon and Freyermuth, a hub that brings together a crèche, music school, media library and offices. It’s a simple modular structure of wood and glass, rational and radical, pure and sincere, with patios inside, the opposite of vernacular in a rural heritage site. ” A structure capable, with its clever and geometrically beautiful mechanics, of evolving according to the program, 1850 m² for a cost of 2.1 million euros, a place for conviviality, which is what we should be aiming for today “, remarked the jury.

The Première œuvre prize was awarded to the Simone-Veil school in Lompret (Nord), by the local town council and Alt174 Architecture. It is a true statement of what can be done better and more, in the service of the community. It was developed with the children’s participation. Everything is red to harmonize with the brick commune. The jury was delighted with this rehabilitation. It shows how young architects know how to take such a subject and design it elegantly. A blend of lightness and fragility, with a cheerful character to reinvigorate an area. The challenge of tomorrow.