What resulted was a idiosyncratic collision of worlds – with the lofty pretentiousness of the international art set smashing head on into the button-down conventions of Alpine skiing. Suffice to say, they encountered some moguls along the way."Where else can you ski right up to a monumental Victor Vasarely, Jean Dubuffet or Picasso piece?"
Concept drawings of the proposed ski hill including a daring cantilever terrace. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
Éric Boissonnas christens the first train route to his Flaine resort. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
It was the crescendo of half a century of demolitions in France – first by war, and then by planners hellbent on sweeping away the grime and complexity of the old world. Folks like the Boissonnas’ saw the aesthetic future of Europe in the hypermodern ‘Banlieue’ blocks that were sprouting up in concentric rings around Paris. Chappis, they decided was not the right man for the job."Ski is an elitist pursuit – concrete, communal apartment blocks were never going to sell much fondue"
Photo: (Left) A young Marcel Breuer reclines in the Wassily chair he designed, via Alamy. (Right) The Bauhaus School in Dessau (Wikimedia Commons)
A painting of the proposed resort. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
The vertiginous construction of Marcel Breuer's hotel, involving concrete slabs held up by tree trunks. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
(Left) Facetted slabs on the facia of a block. (Right) Breuer's sculptural fireplace. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
A monumental, 12 foot high Picasso totem overlooks the ski hill. Photo: Erin Fiell
The chapel alongside 'Les Trois Hexagones' by Op artist Victor Vasarely. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
The avant-garde church interior including candlesticks and lighting designed by Breuer. Photo: Courtesy of Flaine Art Centre
Vasarley's sculpture overlooking two hotel blocks at the base of the hill. Photo: via Alamy
A leap of faith. Marcel Breuer's hotel cantilevers over a sheer cliff edge. Photo: via Alamy