Chalet G.

Courchevel, France

Client

PRIVATE CLIENT

Project team

Architect: WILMOTTE & ASSOCIÉS
Executive architect: CLAUDE PERRIN
Structural steelwork: STA BOREL
Metalwork and carpentry: DEVAUX ET FILLARD

Year

2003

Program

Construction of a metal structure chalet in the heart of the winter sports resort of Courchevel 1850.

This chalet does not deny the standards of the regional habitat (stone, lauze, gable roof) but nevertheless breaks with some ancestral building habits. This project is recognised as a strong architectural gesture in Courchevel, attracting architecture lovers.

The roof covered with lauze is laid on a metal frame whose structure is fully visible from the outside. This unprecedented use of steel in the structure of a chalet reinforces the idea of openness to the outside created by the two glass walls on the entrance side and the terrace side. This modern reading of the façade with the apparent structure accentuates the “barn” aspect of this modern chalet.

The motorised wooden ventilators which serve to conceal the large windows and protect the house from the cold are directly inspired by the ventilators found in the mountains around the hayloft. They open and close in vertical grids using a process in which a motor turns a shaft which moves a rod which, in turn, moves the shutters.