Architectural route

 Visites 

Listed as part of the 20^th century’s heritage, today the architecture of les Arcs remains a world-renowned interpretation of what leisure town planning can be.

In addition to the standard tours which enable visitors to discover and understand the main founding principles of les Arcs’ architecture, two new tours now enrich the resort’s cultural offering.

Architectural Tour of Arc 1600 

The resort of Arc 1600, which holds the Architecture Contemporaine Remarquable (Notable Contemporary Architecture) label, awarded since 2003 by the Ministry of Culture, wanted to show residents and visitors the architectural and planning singularities of the resort which opened at Christmas 1968. Following a route which takes the footpath linking the resort’s apartment buildings and shops, from the Mont Blanc chairlift to the Chalets Pointus, the visitor will find seven panels - in French and English – providing an educational illustration of Arc 1600’s main characteristics.

It can be found near the children’s play area at the top of the Coupole.

Each panel bears a sentence from the writings of Charlotte Perriand, enabling visitors to immerse themselves in the process which dominated the design of les Arcs.
 

     1 - Pastoral life and the beginnings of tourism

     2 - Christmas 1968, the opening of Arc1600

     3 - The Cascade apartment building, the principles of architecture

     4 - Arc 1600’s development structure plan

     5 - The creators of the resort of les Arcs

     6 - Versant Sud and Adret, apartment buildings in tiers against the slope

     7 - The Chalets Pointus

The themes have been selected to present the origins of the resort, les Arcs’ architecture and the team of designers:

- The history of the resort with the identification of the site in 1961, the design and surveys, the beginning of construction in 1967.

- The tiered architecture adopted to ensure the maximum sunshine in the buildings.

- The interior layout designed to favour relaxation and mountain living.

- The planning based on separating the movement of pedestrians, skiers and cars.

- The special relationship of each apartment with the mountains.

- The designers gathered around Roger Godino, Robert Blanc and Charlotte Perriand, each introduced by a portrait and a biographical note.