The site welcoming Geneva's new Cité de la Musique, or City of Music, is located at the intersection of Avenue de la Paix and Avenue de France. Bordering Place de la Nation to the west, it helps in completing a major diplomatic and cultural space of the city.The planned architecture, in its compactness, is positioned at a slight remove from the large square. It preserves intact the surrounding wooded spaces, including a number of remarkable trees: a majestic plane tree marks the entrance to the site.

The Cité de la Musique is anchored in a planted mineral forecourt. Natural stone paving gradually evolves into a grassy area, which is crisscrossed by informal pathways made up of grass-lined cobblestones. The park that spreads out further to the northwest blends smoothly into the hilly topography and the vegetal context characteristic of the surroundings around the Palais des Nations, acting as an extension of the Ariane Park. The existent layer of trees is not only maintained but brought into relief; bushes and forest ground-cover plants (climbing ferns, grasses) are planted in linear patterns so as to create a succession of planes and thereby heighten the feeling of depth present in the site.

The roof of the Cité is composed of a piece of landscape in itself. This surface, accessible to the public, situated higher than the treetops of the park, offers breathtaking views of Lake Leman and the Alps. The landscape setting here takes its inspiration from its subalpine views: rocky ground, meadow areas, and shrubby masses are arranged in alternation, functioning in emphasizing the greater landscape surrounding.