The Salève Cable Car: Experiencing a Living Landscape Maurice Braillard architect

The Salève Cable Car:
Experiencing a Living Landscape
Maurice Braillard architect
Collection “a&s”

The green island of the Salève, an emblematic mountain in the Geneva region, is a preserved natural area distinguished by its unique geography. Straddling France and Switzerland, it links the city of Geneva to an exceptional landscape, offering a panoramic view of the Alps, Mont Blanc, and the Jura.

A haven of unspoiled nature, the Salève invites visitors to explore, hike, and climb while serving as a refuge for biodiversity. Its rich history is marked by pioneering scientists, athletes, and artists–from Saussure to Mary Shillito–who have explored its wonders since the eighteenth century.
    The mountain is an ecological sanctuary, safeguarded by its Natura 2000 classification. Pastoralism, an age-old practice, continues to shape the landscape and sustain the local economy.

The Salève also symbolizes exemplary cooperation between Switzerland and France. The cable car, the first cross-border connection, stands as an emblem of this interconnected region.
    Inaugurated in 1932, this modern masterpiece–designed by architect Maurice Braillard and engineer André Rebuffel–opened new horizons for trade and tourism. The upper station, a monument of raw beauty, remains a testament to the era’s bold vision.

The renovation project–awarded the Équerre d’Argent in 2024–was led by the Devaux & Devaux agency. It aims to preserve this heritage while showcasing the natural beauty of the landscape.
    A historic monument and a feat of contemporary architecture, an open-air leisure space, a refuge, an oasis–this destination is both a stopover on the way to the mountains and a place worth visiting in its own right. As if suspended in time, it offers a space where everything becomes possible.

Visionary in spirit, it fosters a deep connection with the mountain range, rekindling the wonder once felt by the earliest explorers of the summits.

Collection “a&s”
Mountain architecture expresses, more than elsewhere, the relationship between humans and their environment and the connection between society and its territory. These guides make cultural and technical approaches accessible, going far beyond local tourist promotion. Rediscovering the methods and reasoning of pioneers provides us with tools for understanding and allows us to reassess our current stances.

Authors
Maxime Delvaux, photographer
Carine Bel, journalist
Fleur Richard, PhD Candidate in Architecture

Scientific Direction
Dany Cartron
Stéphan Dégeorges
CAUE de Haute-Savoie

Co-publishing
Éditions deux–cent–cinq
CAUE de Haute-Savoie

Format: 16 × 23 cm
Pages: 112
ISBN: 978–2–919380–94–7
Release: 2025
Languages: English, French
Domain: Architectur, Urbanism, Landscape
Price: €20

Graphic design: Éditions deux-cent-cinq
Typefaces: Muoto, Matthieu Cortat and Augure, Simon Renaud; 205TF 
Printing: Imprimerie Ott, Wasselonne (67), France