Architects: Deschenaux Follonier     Photography: Joël Tettamanti     Construction Period:  2020     Location:  Arolla, Switzerland

The project is located in the hamlet Lù Chatarme, near the village Arolla, at the far end of the valley called Val d’Hérens. Since the origin of its construction, this traditional mountain chalet has sheltered its owner for a few months per year. He climbs up here at 1850 meters above sea level to graze his cows. The project takes root in the dialogue with the farmer, in the customs of the place, in its history. How to keep the specific features of a mountain shelter, while enhancing its hosting potential, its habitability, and its comfort?

The first idea is to preserve the main wooden room. Only a stair is created, allowing you to get to the first floor where six persons can now spend the night. The wood that is used for the first-floor construction contributes to the area’s history and even the family’s history. The wood comes indeed from a little larch forest owned by the family, whose trees have been planted in the time of the first construction of the chalet. It is as if the trees had grown next to the chalet, in order to enable it to last. It looks like a solidarity of nature towards the construction. A gift, calling for a return?

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