Geneva, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) - The city of Geneva Tuesday presented plans to the public for its first specially-built green neighbourhood, hours after a fire destroyed a building on the site which has in recent years been an alternative culture centre.

Just before midnight Monday a major fire took hold of a hangar on the old industrial site of Artamais in Geneva, with flames of 7-10 metres, later discovered by firefighters to be due to propane gas found on the site. The cause of the fire is suspected to be linked to homeless people who were earlier in the area. The hangar was destroyed.

Tuesday, the city went ahead and unveiled its plans for the new “ecoquartier,” called Carré vert. It will be the first specially-built green neighbourhood in Geneva, scheduled to be completed by 2015. It will include 250 apartments, two schools and workshops for artists and skilled crafts workers. The first part of the work, decontaminating the soil, heavily polluted during several years by the city’s industrial services, will take three years.

Artamis photos

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