The Grandes Combes in Courchevel  --

The Grandes Combes site is near the prestigious ski resort of Courchevel. The project program is a construction of a large sports complex looking down over the forested mountainous areas, including a water sports centre, playing fields, an indoor sports hall, a conference centre and several outdoor sports fields.The brief included the rehabilitation of the entire 12-hectare site. Our approach was to remove the existing fill which had marred the natural landform and to reveal the natural banks of the stream, in order to reconstitute the original stream bed and to reinstate the landscape on the Eastern slope.  The buildings (sports, media and conference centres) are integrated into the mountain and the roof structure design blends into the sides of the mountain becoming an extension of the slope. The landscape design reinforces and confirms the architectural approach that of restoring the Grandes Combes site to its natural state. The plants proposed are in keeping with the existing vegetation and are composed of three categories: meadows, riparian and forest species. The meadow is alpine, in order to blend into the surrounding hillsides.