Page 268 - Livre Beau Rivage Palace

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

THE GRANDEUR AND DECADENCE or half arch according to need; the service ware (trays, glasses Mermod-Stoffel (1926-28), and Mon-Abri for Nellie and Roger
and crockery, drainers, etc.) could be stowed away in the inner
de Cérenville (1934). In August-September 1938, he designed a
OF J. CORNAZ’S BAR sections of the arch, while the outer section was to be decorated country house for Max de Cérenville, who had sat on the hotel’s

FOR THE BEAU-RIVAGE PALACE with the same brass bars which, according to dictionary definitions, board of directors since April 1913, and been deputy manager
originally gave ‘the bar’ its name. The walls were to be panelled in
since 1923. A further illustration of Cornaz’s wide network
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decorative wood with shutters hand-crafted in the R. Ledermann of contacts is his lifelong friendship with the banker Auguste
workshop. For the centre, Cornaz had designed an alcove which Brandenbourg, who commissioned the architect’s first project: at
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was to be fitted either ‘with a mirror or a painting’. A photograph the time, Brandenburg was one of the most powerful shareholders
published in 1943 shows a huge mirror at the end of the dance in the Société immobilière d’Ouchy building society.
floor but does not reveal which of the two proposed ideas was J. Cornaz also produced designs for the bar furniture (probably
chosen (fig. 4). A preparatory sketch indicates that the painting built for him by R. Ledermann), shop fittings, ebony work and
was to represent a compass rose set against the background of Lake other types of carpentry. Drawings from May 1939 feature tables
Nadja MAILLARD
Geneva (fig. 5). During the same period, Cornaz was also working with handmade feet in imitation bamboo, a form he was especially
The bar, along with the lobby and the restaurant, is one of In December 1938, the decision was taken to go ahead with on a villa in Pully for Renée and Raymond Devrient, named ‘La fond of and to which he returned periodically in his sketchbooks.
those places that can make or break a hotel. And the bar of the the planned work: ‘Namely to fit out the space on the east side as a bar, Fraidieu’ after one of the winds of the lake. The architect’s cousin, The books also provide a record of his research on various hotel
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Beau-Rivage Palace has been revamped time and time again with a false ceiling and wood panelling on the walls. The space to the west the artist Henry Bischoff, had painted a compass rose on canvas for bars in Paris, particularly the bar of the Plaza, on which he made
throughout its chequered history. will become a drawing room, and the board has decided not to connect the the villa, illustrating the Fraidieu as a mythological fantasy. notes relating to details such as the design and the materials used
Until September 1938, the board of directors of the Beau- two spaces with a door, to remove the fireplace between the two windows At this point it is worth mentioning a defining feature that (fig. 6). It is interesting to observe that Cornaz treated public
Rivage Palace had planned to ‘freshen up’ the existing bar with ‘a (which was too small) and to create a transparent ceiling.’ 4 characterises the majority of Cornaz’s work. Save for a dozen or so spaces and private interiors alike, as his stage set designs also show.
quick lick of paint’, but in their meeting of 10 October they finally J. Cornaz produced a preliminary sketch in January, giving projects, all the architectural commissions he worked on between He employed the same central design, the same upholstered
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decided that: ‘A minor revamp is not worth our while, as we would have a general outline of the project and indicating the overall design 1924 and 1966 were concentrated around Lake Geneva. Perhaps furnishings, and the same drapes as in many of his private villas; and
to buy furniture which might not fit in with the decor of the bar when it is that had been agreed on. The plan divided the area into two the architect’s attachment to the region stemmed from that same his floors used the same terracotta bricks from Bussigny, arranged
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completely refurbished. M. Muller considers a new bar to be as important spaces, taking in the old billiards room: to the west there was to ‘hypothetical Swiss-French identity’ discussed by Antoine Baudin in in a herringbone pattern and teamed with flat segments of black
as the completion of the lighting system and the renovation of the old Beau- be a dance floor, and to the east the actual bar (fig. 1). The dance reference to the artistic language of French-speaking Switzerland marble from Saint Triphon (the architect was particularly attracted
Rivage building. All of this work must be done at the same time when the area was to have a parquet wood flooring whose materials were at the time. According to Baudin, the elements that define the to the bichrome effect produced by combining these two materials,
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hotel is closed […]. The current bar and the lack of bathroom facilities are specified by the architect (walnut, oak, ebony, maple, sycamore landscape – in terms of the geography of perception – are the and used it repeatedly in his work – fig. 7).
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both causing us to lose clients.’ 2 and cherry); the design centred around a star from which sixteen Rhône and Lake Geneva, which assume the air of mythological By the spring of 1939, the deliberations and correspondence
Two days later, the board engaged the architect J. Cornaz sections radiated outwards to form an ‘umbrella’ composition (fig. 2). places: ‘The Lake is the central, unifying focus of the French-speaking Swiss, of the board of directors reveal that the work had been delayed:
(1886-1974) on the following terms: ‘While we cannot afford to be The zodiac provided the main motif for the ceiling, in painted their very own Mediterranean, which appeals to their refined sensibilities, ‘Here we are at the end of May, and the bar is still far from being finished.
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extravagant with last year’s profits, we are none the less obliged to finish wood openwork: circular arcs were to emanate from each of and is classic in its modernity.’ In 1938, Cornaz was architect to It is extremely frustrating for us, and we are obviously losing money as
installing the lighting system which was begun last winter, and it seems the star’s twelve points to cover the entire surface of the ceiling, the Lausanne ‘high society’. In Ouchy, notably, he made a name for the hotel is busy with guests who are staying for Whitsun and the fencing
opportune to take advantage of the partial closure of the old hotel building which would be bordered by a classical-style frieze. The whole himself by building and renovating several villas, some of which tournament.’ Although the board was pleased to report that the
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by renovating the bar at the same time. In the light of our budget, and was to be illuminated indirectly by neon lights sunk into a wide were located on ancient country estates. He restructured ‘Fantaisie’ projects had not gone over budget, the results were cause for
having given the matter further consideration, we have revised our original surrounding cornice with mouldings inspired by those of the for Henry-Louis Mermod (1926) and the Denantou park house concern: ‘The extensive renovation work which was started this winter
brief. We would like the bar to be simple and classic, if I may use this entrance lobby (fig. 3). For the bar itself, Cornaz had devised a for the sculptor Edouard-Marcel Sandoz (1930-32), built a large is now finished. The restaurant is a great success, but the bar is dreary.
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expression to describe a space which must also be extremely modern.’ 3 modular semicircular unit which could be configured in a full house and outbuildings in Petit-Ouchy for Béatrice and Walter The armchairs which have been temporarily placed there are not right. It

J. Cornaz architect, View from the front, black lead pencil, J. Cornaz architect, Beau-Rivage, dance floor, undated [1939]. J. Cornaz architect, Beau-Rivage, dance floor, ceiling.
Indian ink and gouache, undated [1938-39]. Sketch for model, undated [1939].

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