Jean-Michel Wilmotte architect, « Luxury is all about space »

What sort of properties are people building in the mountains nowadays?

In the 1950s, houses were built on stilts. After that and for the next thirty years or so people used to dismantle farms for the wood and use it to give their chalets a rustic look. Basically it was a matter of pastiche and simply transposing the farms. Then a more contemporary period started when people started playing with the idea of transparency. Nowadays building a luxury property in the mountains is all about space. For example, I am currently working on a private chalet in Megève with full-height rooms reaching up to the roof timbers, lots of transparency, natural light, and two facades set at right angles, giving it a double aspect. The first chalet I designed in Courchevel was already double aspect with a very high central space and glass walls. It was one of the first of this new generation of chalets.

Has your clients' taste changed?

Absolutely. The days when people wanted to reconstitute old farmhouses are a thing of the past. We are now in a period when contemporary architecture is appreciated in the mountains - and this applies abroad too where we do 35% of our work. Technology has moved on a lot and we can now work with a different architectural language. And in particular it is increasingly interesting to build in wood as this saves energy and reduces carbon emissions. Wooden structures are often covered with a render, with wood being used instead of concrete.

© Léo-Paul Ridet