All change at the CERN UBS branch

UBS branches across the country are being modernised, and the CERN branch is no exception. The Bulletin brings you a preview of the project, which will get under way in January 2013.

 

Mock-up of the renovated UBS branch.

The changes at the UBS branch in CERN's Main Building will be no simple facelift. The entire bank will be renovated, transforming the present relatively confined premises into an open and attractive area. "The renovation of the UBS branches is part of a wider campaign designed to further enhance our customer relations," explains Ezio Mangia, the head of the CERN branch. 

The UBS bank currently occupies three sets of premises in CERN's Main Building (two on the ground floor and one in the basement). "By the end of the work, which is scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year, CERN customers will benefit from a new area with open-plan counters and "hole-in-the-wall" machines accessible to disabled users.  Depending on the type of service they require, customers will be directed to new 'advice' areas in the basement or to the premises next to the post office for financial services," explains Ezio Mangia. 

The project features new furniture, open spaces where confidentiality will nevertheless be maintained, an elegant and welcoming atmosphere, and new enclosed booths offering greater privacy. "The new premises of the UBS bank will blend very well with the style of the newly renovated Main Building," says Myriam Veyrat, the person in charge of the Main Building's renovation project.

UBS will continue to provide its customers will the full range of services while the work is in progress. "The cash machines and counters will be temporarily relocated but will remain in service. Some inconvenience will be unavoidable, however, especially in terms of noise," says Myriam Veyrat. For this reason, conferences and other events scheduled to take place in the Main Auditorium have had to be moved to other locations.

The work will begin in January 2013 and should be completed by June. If these photos have whetted your appetite for more information about the new-look UBS, a preview is on display at the bank's Petit-Saconnex branch.

Display windows

The Staff Association is receiving an increasing number of requests from artists wishing to display their work on the ground floor of the Main Building. To help it to meet the demand, new display cabinets as well as a new display area (see photo) are in the offing. The project will create more attractive facilities for artists to display their work. Situated in front of the outdoor courtyard, on the main route to Restaurant No. 1, they will be ideally located to attract the attention of passers-by. A touch of colour and appropriate lighting will complete the display area, which will be inaugurated shortly.

 

by Antonella Del Rosso