Architecture: ZweGiele Architects
Photos: Fabiana Zanola

LA VIE, Bern

Light for a place between memory and life.

At Bremgartenfriedhof in Bern, a former urn hall has been transformed into La Vie, a restaurant, café and cultural space where visitors can pause, meet and return gently to the present.

The project carries a rare kind of responsibility. It is not only about creating a new hospitality space, but about doing so within a place of memory, silence and architectural significance. For Swiss design duo ZweGiele, the approach was one of respect: preserving the character of the existing structure while introducing new elements with clarity and restraint.

PROLICHT luminaires become part of this careful balance. Minimal Track brings precise, discreet light into the interior, while SIGN DIVA and GLORIOUS support the atmosphere with a soft architectural presence. In the former urn niches, subtle lighting creates a continuous rhythm across the shelves, allowing the memory of the original space to remain visible without becoming dominant.

Materiality plays a central role. Marble, metal details and custom furniture finished in PROLICHT colours build a quiet dialogue between old and new. Champagne tones, refined surfaces and carefully integrated elements echo the sensitivity of the space, while small details from the Studio Collection language reappear throughout the interior.

The result is not a contrast between past and present, but a respectful transition. A place where architecture, light and material work together to create calm, dignity and a new sense of life.