Canton of Geneva · Vaud · Chablais
Building a villa on Lake Geneva
Energy-positive residences built to Swiss standards, private jetties and glass facades facing Mont Blanc.
Our reading of the territory
What Lake Geneva asks of a house.
On both shores of Lake Geneva, we combine Swiss requirements (SIA 380/1, Minergie-P) with French regulation (RE2020) to build energy-positive villas that give up nothing in formal restraint.
Two shores, two legal systems, one standard. Our clients are Franco-Swiss, and so are our engineers: every villa is checked against both RE2020 and SIA 380/1, without ever letting a standard dictate the form. In early 2027 an office opens in Geneva to follow these projects even more closely.
Lake Geneva is a land of two cultures: Franco-Swiss clients, overlapping standards, craftsmen from both countries. Our engineers validate every project against both RE2020 and SIA 380/1, and a Geneva office opens in early 2027.
Our 280 m² energy-positive villa on the Lake Geneva arc — groundwater geothermal heating, a 40 kWp building-integrated solar roof, an earth-air heat exchanger — was handed over four days ahead of the contractual date, with a positive energy balance after twelve months.
The cantilevered villas of the south shore extend the living room over the water, with a private teak jetty and integrated mooring, permitted through the harbour master and the Geneva planning department.
The land
On the Geneva shore, the villa zone is under constant pressure and the densification required by the LCI reshapes every project. On the French side, from Yvoire to Évian, hillside land is still available but calls for serious soil studies, with molasse and a shallow water table first among them.
The way we build
A very high-performance envelope, mineral thermal mass, groundwater geothermal energy and a building-integrated solar roof. The villa produces more than it consumes, and shows it as little as possible: no panels added on top, no visible grilles.
Life in the house
A living room facing due south towards Mont Blanc, a teak jetty with a mooring permitted by the harbour master, an underground tasting cellar on the north side. The bise is handled with stepped facades, not with windbreaks.
Materials & permits
What we use, what we get permitted.
Working across two regulatory cultures is not an obstacle: it has been our speciality for eight years, and the reason our Lake Geneva villas go up without a permit ever having to be redone.
Reference materials
Craftsmen from both shores
Structure and waterproofing on the Chablais side, joinery and interior fittings in French-speaking Switzerland, marble and natural stone sourced in northern Italy and shipped via Domodossola. Contracts are written in the contractor’s currency; the exchange-rate risk is ours, never the client’s.
What we handle for you
- Dual RE2020 / SIA 380/1 validation
- LDTR & LCI (Geneva)
- Shoreline zone & public lake domain
- Geothermal drilling regulated (DREAL / GESDEC)
Two sets of rules, one file
On the Swiss side, the building permit falls under the LCI and, for the renovation of residential buildings, the LDTR — a specific procedure many discover too late. Envelope ratios, boundary distances and site coverage are calculated to the centimetre. On the French side, the local plans of the Chablais municipalities, the coastal law and shoreline protection govern siting. Geothermal drilling is regulated by the GESDEC in Geneva and the DREAL in France. We prepare both applications in parallel, with a registered architect in each country.
Application prepared by our Planning & Architecture team before any work is committed.
Localities
Where we work on Lake Geneva.
- Cologny
- Anières
- Vandœuvres
- Bellevue
- Évian-les-Bains
- Yvoire
- Nyon
- Lausanne
Invest Prestige works in Cologny, Anières, Vandœuvres, Bellevue, Évian-les-Bains, Yvoire, Nyon and Lausanne: feasibility study, land acquisition, building permit, project management and turnkey delivery across Lake Geneva · Geneva (Canton of Geneva · Vaud · Chablais). We build and renovate prestige villas, private residences and exceptional apartments, with a single point of contact from the first sketch to the last snag cleared.
Meeting · Lake Geneva
A plot in view? We will assess it for you.
An address, a land-registry reference or a simple listing: within 48 hours we tell you what the rules allow on Lake Geneva, what the slope imposes and what budget to aim for.
Projects
What we have built on Lake Geneva.
Every project can be visited by appointment, with our clients’ consent. Areas, timings and materials are those of the signed contract, not of a brochure.
Project rank
What house to build on Lake Geneva?
Choose the type of work, the floor area and the finish: the crest places your project on the scale of our houses, from Épure to Collection, calibrated against our signed contracts on Lake Geneva.
Project rank
Provisional timetable
≈ 30 months
- Design
- 4 months
- Permits
- 8 months
- Works
- 17 months
Four months of design, eight months of permit processing — the dual validation explains most of it — then eighteen to twenty-four months on site. Customs clearance for Italian supplies and the approval of French contractors working in Switzerland are planned for from the design stage.
Indicative rank, calibrated against our signed contracts in this region. Detailed costing comes with the feasibility study; our commission is paid by our partner contractors.
The Journal · Lake Geneva
Read before you build.
The rules, costs and constraints of this territory, set out in detail in our notes.
- Planning & territories
Lex Koller: can a foreigner build a villa in Switzerland?
Residence, permits, cross-border workers, holiday homes: what the Lex Koller allows and forbids when buying land and building a villa in Geneva or the canton of Vaud.
Planning & territoriesBuilding a villa in Geneva or the canton of Vaud: permits, timing, costs
The LCI and the villa zone in Geneva, the LATC and public inquiry in Vaud, SIA 380/1, costs in CHF: how a villa on the Swiss shore of Lake Geneva is permitted.
Frequently asked questions
Building on Lake Geneva, in practice.
Budget, timing, permits, materials: the six questions we are always asked, with the figures for this territory.
What budget should I plan for a villa on Lake Geneva?
New construction on Lake Geneva costs CHF 5,800 – 9,200/m² excl. VAT, Signature finish. For a reference programme of 300 m², that means a budget of CHF 1,930,000 to CHF 3,145,000, including architect, engineering and insurance fees. The Prestige and Palace finishes add 22% and 50% respectively to the base. Our brokerage commission is paid by our partner contractors: it is never passed on to the client.
How long does it take to build on Lake Geneva?
Allow 4 months of design and 3D modelling, 8 months of permit processing — the usual timescale for this territory — then 17 months on site for 300 m². That is about 30 months between the first meeting and the handover of the keys. We commit to this timetable in the contract: 100% of our projects have been delivered on time.
Which planning rules apply on Lake Geneva?
Four points shape every project on Lake Geneva: dual RE2020 / SIA 380/1 validation, LDTR & LCI (Geneva), shoreline zone & public lake domain and geothermal drilling regulated (DREAL / GESDEC). On the Swiss side, the building permit falls under the LCI and, for the renovation of residential buildings, the LDTR — a specific procedure many discover too late. Envelope ratios, boundary distances and site coverage are calculated to the centimetre. On the French side, the local plans of the Chablais municipalities, the coastal law and shoreline protection govern siting. Geothermal drilling is regulated by the GESDEC in Geneva and the DREAL in France. We prepare both applications in parallel, with a registered architect in each country. Our Planning & Architecture team prepares the entire application before any work is committed.
Which materials do you use on Lake Geneva?
Our reference materials are high-performance insulating blocks, building-integrated solar roof, Calacatta marble, smoked oak and jetty teak. Structure and waterproofing on the Chablais side, joinery and interior fittings in French-speaking Switzerland, marble and natural stone sourced in northern Italy and shipped via Domodossola. Contracts are written in the contractor’s currency; the exchange-rate risk is ours, never the client’s.
When can building start on Lake Geneva?
Four months of design, eight months of permit processing — the dual validation explains most of it — then eighteen to twenty-four months on site. Customs clearance for Italian supplies and the approval of French contractors working in Switzerland are planned for from the design stage. Working across two regulatory cultures is not an obstacle: it has been our speciality for eight years, and the reason our Lake Geneva villas go up without a permit ever having to be redone.
Do you also renovate on Lake Geneva?
Yes. A major renovation on Lake Geneva — remodelling, envelope, building services and finishes — costs CHF 3,200 – 5,600/m² excl. VAT; interior fit-out alone CHF 1,600 – 3,400/m² excl. VAT. A complete 200 m² remodelling therefore comes to CHF 710,000 to CHF 1,275,000 over about 20 months. We renovate villas and prestige apartments in Cologny, Anières, Vandœuvres, Bellevue, Évian-les-Bains, Yvoire, Nyon and Lausanne.
Other territories
Five other places we know well.
We only work where we have full command of the land, the rules and the contractors.
Meeting · Lake Geneva
Your project deserves excellence.
Thirty minutes with a founder, a first reading of your plot on Lake Geneva and a feasibility study within 21 days. A confidentiality agreement from the very first exchange.