The Phare Ylliam is not a traditional coastal beacon, but a delicate, 21-metre-high infrastructural presence anchoring the quiet landscape of Geneva, Switzerland. Designed by local studio Bureau, the project rejects the stereotypical, figurative silhouette of the lighthouse, opting instead for an architectural form that acts as a landmark of transparency and light. The structure deliberately confirms its civic vocation, standing as the last, or first, vertical sign seen by a maritime traveller returning to the harbour.
While the dramatic, stormy seascapes often associated with these structures are absent on Lake Geneva, the Bureau design embraces the tranquility of its context. It is conceived as a mirage—an architecture that plays with appearance and disappearance, its evanescence set against a rocky, riprap landscape. This approach focuses on the poetic substance of the object: a place that inspires reverie and imagination, symbolizing safety and return.
The structural design is a direct and radical tribute to the engineering legacy of Vladimir Shukhov, the early 20th-century Soviet pioneer of ultra-light construction. The Phare Ylliam borrows the geometry of Shukhov’s experimental hyperboloid structures, echoing works like the Adziogol lighthouse. This lattice-like construction, reportedly made of light metal with thin cables, perfectly suits the Geneva waterfront, creating an artifact of extreme vertical lightness.
In contrast to the soaring, transparent tower, the lighthouse is grounded by a solid, mineral, and anchored base. The structure rises, literally, from a rocky foundation—a modified array of the mineral blocks found throughout the harbour. Bureau viewed the silent, delicate site as a unique opportunity to shape the landscape, accentuating the point of extension into the lake with a strong, well-placed development that supports the beacon above.
The design studio ensured the experience of the place is multifaceted, moving from the panoramic exterior to the rich interiors across three floors. The base contains a protected living space with a centered long window, evoking the magical interior architecture created by artist César Manrique in Lanzarote. Above, the compact upper cabin offers an efficient, ‘boat cabin’ experience, overlooking Lake Geneva with a full panoramic view.
Concluding the design is a dynamic lantern that elevates the Phare Ylliam beyond a static monument. The light fixture can be raised and lowered using a guidance system incorporated into the pillars and main structure. This final element offers a set of dynamic landscape and structural elements, allowing the lighthouse to interact physically and visually with the harbour, shifting focus between the distant horizon, the near lake, and the intimate life housed within the elegant structure in Switzerland.