Page 33 - AIT0321_E-Paper

Fotos: Christian Schaulin

Hotel Terminal Neige – Le Totem • Hotel Terminal Neige – Le Totem Spektakulärer Überhang: Hotel Le Flaine – 1968 erbaut und 2019 komplett renoviert. • Spectacular: Hotel Le Flaine – built 1968, refurbished 2019

tion that, here in Flaine, landscape, architecture and interiors form a unit. Amazin-
gly calm, cleverly cool façades, confidently structured, lively concrete. One imme-
diately expects – and quite rightly so – flawlessly proportioned interiors where, be-
sides the aching muscles, the spirit as well finds recreation. Bauhaus architect Mar-
cel Breuer and his team did not, as was usually the case, have to obey clueless mu-
nicipal councils and witless microentrepreneurs but alone the esprit of a cosmopo-
litan Parisian entrepreneur who was here squandering his great passion – and
plenty of money, of course. Here, one immediately also feels: once the skiing season
has ended here and the snow has melted, no sad backdrops remain. Spring, sum-
mer and autumn also celebrate their calmer feasts in Flaine.”
Delicately facetted concrete: like the backdrop of a James Bond film

The decades appear to have gone by without leaving a mark on the impressive en-
semble of delicately facetted concrete which, to this days, makes the hearts of ar- Le Boqueteau des 7 arbres – Skulpturengruppe von Jean Dubuffet • Le Boqueteau des 7 Aarbres – by Jean Dubuffet
chitecture-lovers and fans of winter sports from all over the world beat faster – in
the powdery fresh snow, the buildings, which are well-balanced in their dimensions Ökumenische Kapelle von Marcel Breuer – 1973 eingeweiht • Marcel Breuer’s chapel – consecrated in 1973
and perfectly placed, look almost unreal, like a backdrop from a James Bond film.
Especially well-known is the Le Flaine hotel whose structure Breuer had designed
in a big gesture to spectacularly jut out over a rockface. Like many other buildings
around the central Flaine Forum, it has recently been completely refurbished inside
and now offers modern comfort in 72 rooms. We check into a hotel further along:
into the Terminal Neige – Le Totem. Since its renovation renovation by the architect
Guillaume Relier from the Paris R Architecture office, the hotel today attracts a
young international clientele – with individually designed rooms and colourful vin-
tage furniture in the restaurant und the bar next to the monumental open fireplace
in Marcel Breuer’s listed concrete shell. From here it is not even 200 metres to the
first ski lift – and thus into an almost endless world of ski slopes. The enormous net-
work of ski runs with a variety of challenges, planned by the French ski racer Émile
Allais, has been continuously expanded over the decades and leaves nothing to be
desired. Whether as a beginner or an advanced skier, everyone finds runs according
to their own skills in the vast skiing arena which extends between Flaine, Les Car-
roz, Samoëns, Morillon and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval with 70 lifts and about 150 ski runs.
After the breath of fresh air and the athletic challenge of a perfect skiing day, one
can relax in the jacuzzi on the terrace of hotel spa – with a view of the snow-covered
mountain world into which Marcel Breuer has so masterly embedded his ski resort.

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