While in France I was fascinated and captivated by the architecture and design of Avoriaz, France - a small town nestled high in the alps, boardering Switzerland. The architects Jean-Jacques Orzoni, Jean-Marc Roques and Jacques Labro designed with materials such as wood and slate to blend the architecture seamlessly into the surrounding cliffs.



The overall design of the town was based on mimetic architecture principles which rejects right angles (a form that is "foreign to nature" according to Jacques Labro), blends in with the setting formed by the surrounding mountains. The siding, a wood shingle, was selected to change color depending on the degree of sunshine (varying from gray to orange). Other elements, such as footbridges, fan-shaped balconies, and terraces give the impression of opening onto the landscape.

The Hôtel des Dromonts, designed by Labro, was designed to resembling pyramids carved out of the rock - giving the impression that the building itself was "rising up towards the peaks out of the icy rock of the cliff."

Some sketches from my book:

Some photos from the site:

(taken from a ski lift)




(the buildings seem to blend into the cliff wall)

I suppose the reason I am so captivated by these buildings is because I feel the architects truly investigated the surrounding landscape and made a legimate effort to design the buildings FOR the site. Clearly, the architecture is complimentary to the surrounding cliffs and mountains.