Located in the center of a historical town on Lake Geneva’s Riviera, Switzerland, Riviera Loft is a three story loft set within an industrial building from the 1900s. Rich with texture and history, the primary challenge of the project was to preserve the character of the industrial space while allowing for modern conveniences of a growing family. To preserve the industrial space while allowing for modern conveniences, the exterior walls were preserved and focus was placed on creating a “lightness” with the interior interventions. Solid walls were softened with rounded corners, and wherever possible, transparent glass was used. Programmatically, the spaces are divided amongst the floors: the first floor is dedicated to living spaces, the second floor to the children’s rooms and common space, and the third is dedicated to the master bedroom and bathrooms. Connecting the levels is a circular staircase reflecting, in form, the original circular windows that line the southern facade. A tonal palette of light oak wood, smoked glass, and black marble is used throughout to create a minimal backdrop for the client’s furniture and art collection. The building was originally built in 1842 for farm machinery repair and the production of mill wheels for presses. After the industrial revolution, and the arrival of the railway in 1861, the purpose of the building pivoted to manufacturing hydraulic turbines. More recently, in 1973 the turbines were entirely assembled in other buildings and the workshop was dedicated to stain-less steel boiler making. The style is described as “regional baroque”: finely chiseled arched moldings subtly mimic colossal antique columns, framing semi-circular arches topped with oc-uli. Taking the form of a single 9500 m3 space, the building often saw changes of use through-out its history. In 1973, when turbines were entirely assembled in other buildings, the work-shop was dedicated to stainless steel boiler making.