The Fondation Braillard Architectes is a Swiss charitable institution registered in the Canton of Geneva. Its aim is “to promote the public understanding of architecture and urbanism.”
Concretely this means :
Promoting awareness and understanding of both completed buildings and projects and of their relevance today, so encouraging the development of an architectural and urbanistic culture among the general public. This involves the preservation and exploitation of archives (with the organization of exhibitions and the publication of studies) and the safeguarding of buildings (through conservation activities);
Carrying out research intended to give architecture and urbanism a better grounding in social analysis. This is why the FBA has over the last several years endeavoured to build bridges between the social sciences and the various disciplines of construction, supporting and publishing studies, for example, on the architectural profession (a new hybrid occupation), the cantonal architect as network actor, a grassroots eco-neighbourhood project, and new kinds of expertise in urbanism;
To provide facilities and opportunities for researchers and the general public, not only organizing conferences but also offering commissions and grants. To serve as a link between professional organisations and civil society in promoting the establishment of a proper “Centre for Architecture, Urbanism, Heritage, Environment and Landscape.”
Through its activities, the FBA intends to be more than a memorial: a living institution, rooted in the present, working to improve the city as a living environment.