History of our frescoes

Since 2015, the walls of the Mont-Blanc car park have been adorned by large decorative frescoes. The first mural, completed in 2015, triggered an unusual series of paintings dedicated to Jean Calvin’s city, to mobility and the world of parking. PARKGEST CEO Thierry d’Autheville, who initiated the project, and Yoren Geromin, an illustrator and the artistic director of the Tandem Agency in Geneva, shed light on this wonderful artistic project in the following interview.

PMB: What was your original motivation for this project?

Thierry d’Autheville: It was all about bringing decorative elements into our subterranean universe that sometimes makes people anxious. We made the best of the walls we could use for this project, in a building with low ceilings whose architecture dates from the 1970s. This desire to embellish the environment does not come from today’s age – decorative glazing was common at pedestrian exits in the past.

What were your specific requirements for the murals?

Thierry d’Autheville. I wanted to enhance Geneva’s roadstead on the lake and its characteristic and spectacular elements. I consider the roadstead on the lake in Geneva to be one of the most beautiful in the world, and I gave the TANDEM agency carte blanche to carry out this project. We started out with two available formats, that is to say 34 m for Fresco No. 1 and 26 m for Fresco No. 2.

Why did you choose this style?

Yoren Geromin. We wanted to breathe life into the various sign posts and informative elements used in the car park. So I chose the medium of paintings, where all the motifs can be interpreted with the same visual coherence. I worked in a universalist spirit, incorporating a multitude of elements that I discovered whilst reading. I also preferred to keep things blue, in keeping with PARKGEST’s corporate design.

How did this visual concept based on illustration appeal to you?

Thierry d’Autheville: It’s an original approach that simultaneously allows a unique graphic signature and a little touch of madness. Moreover, mural painting enables a thematic range without compromising the unity of the overall work of art. Fresco No. 1 was dedicated to the roadstead on the lake, Fresco No. 2 to the world, Fresco No. 3 to the car park itself and Fresco No. 4 to PARKGEST’s services.

How did you get the humorous idea of alluding to vehicles and film stars?

Yoren Geromin. The concept was born when I created the first fresco. I liked the idea of making surprising allusions, borrowed from the world of films, evoking cars and mobility.