Hôtel Restaurant le Rivage

On the lakeshore east of Lausanne, this restaurant-hotel union occupies a glass pavilion that appears to float above the water, its industrial transparency letting Lake Geneva dominate the view. Fifty to one hundred fifty guests sit surrounded by glass, with nothing between them and the water except architecture so minimal it nearly vanishes. Mount-Blanc rises across the lake in clean Alpine relief. The building's restraint forces the landscape to provide all drama. It suits couples who came for the setting, not the structure.