Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Flaine
Flaine is a ski area in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps, and is a part of the linked Grand Massif domain. It is in the territory of the communes of Magland and Arâches-la-Frasse. Flaine is linked to Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, with 267 kilometres (166 mi) pistes in total. It featured the first 8-seater high speed chairlift, Les Grands Vans, and the first snow cannons to be installed in Europe. Flaine is often called the "big snowy bowl" due to it having one of the best snow records in the Alps. Flaine has been dubbed “the world's ugliest ski resort” due to the brutalist architecture of its buildings.
The site was discovered in 1959 by the geophysicist Éric Boissonnas and his wife Sylvie Boissonnas, who wanted to combine outdoor recreation with architecture and design, with the goal of prioritizing aesthetics and care of the environment. Éric and Sylvie Boissonnas entrusted Flaine's design to Marcel Breuer, the eminent Bauhaus architect whose structural designs are well known around the world. He designed the resort using brutalist architecture, with details such as sculptural fireplaces and door handles to hang a ski glove. Ski runs designed by champion Émile Allais, while gondola lift stations were kept on the same level as the ski runs.[citation needed]
Right from the design stage, Éric Boissonnas and Marcel Breuer were careful not to disturb the natural surroundings by integrating the resort into nearby mountains. The layout blends in with the environment's contours, and the different levels which make up the resort can not be seen from one to the other. While cables and wires were hidden in tunnels to achieve a feeling of privacy and tranquillity. They invited urbanist Laurent Chappis who helped influence their plans in order to preserve the natural landscape.
The construction of the resort was not without difficulty. Chappis and Pradelle left after Breuer joined the team, Boissonnas fell out with the government official in charge of planning France's winter sports industry and when local landowners found out that Boissonnas was a billionaire they threatened to block the building of the access road to the resort until they received adequate compensation. The result was a three-year delay and huge cost overruns, and led to greater state involvement in French ski resort development. By the time the resort was opened on 17 January 1969 it had probably cost Boissonnas the equivalent of around $250 million from his personal fortune at 2005 prices.
The site is divided into two areas which are joined by two free lifts. The upper area, Flaine Forêt, at an altitude of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft), consists of a number of apartment buildings named after constellations, the Éric et Sylvie Boissonnas Auditorium, shops, offices and restaurants. The lower area, Flaine Forum, at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), has more restaurants, shops, bars and accommodation. It contains Europe’s first snowmaking system.
The resort boasts a wealth of monumental works of art - "La Tête de Femme" by Pablo Picasso, "Le Boqueteau" by Jean Dubuffet, and "Les Trois Hexagones" by Victor Vasarely.
Flaine is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away from Geneva Airport, approximately 3 hours drive from Lyon, and 30 km from the A 40 motorway (l'Autoroute Blanche). It is close to resorts Les Houches, Les Contamines, large ski area Chamonix-Mont-Blanc as well as the Portes du Soleil region — notably resorts Les Gets and Morzine. Trips to Italy via the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Courmayeur are also possible.
Bus services are available several times a day to Taninges in the Giffre Valley (where resorts Morillon and Samoëns are situated) where buses to Geneva and Chamonix can be accessed. The bus service is run by Transdev Alpbus.
Hub AI
Flaine AI simulator
(@Flaine_simulator)
Flaine
Flaine is a ski area in the Haute Savoie region of the French Alps, and is a part of the linked Grand Massif domain. It is in the territory of the communes of Magland and Arâches-la-Frasse. Flaine is linked to Samoëns, Morillon, Les Carroz and Sixt-Fer-à-Cheval, with 267 kilometres (166 mi) pistes in total. It featured the first 8-seater high speed chairlift, Les Grands Vans, and the first snow cannons to be installed in Europe. Flaine is often called the "big snowy bowl" due to it having one of the best snow records in the Alps. Flaine has been dubbed “the world's ugliest ski resort” due to the brutalist architecture of its buildings.
The site was discovered in 1959 by the geophysicist Éric Boissonnas and his wife Sylvie Boissonnas, who wanted to combine outdoor recreation with architecture and design, with the goal of prioritizing aesthetics and care of the environment. Éric and Sylvie Boissonnas entrusted Flaine's design to Marcel Breuer, the eminent Bauhaus architect whose structural designs are well known around the world. He designed the resort using brutalist architecture, with details such as sculptural fireplaces and door handles to hang a ski glove. Ski runs designed by champion Émile Allais, while gondola lift stations were kept on the same level as the ski runs.[citation needed]
Right from the design stage, Éric Boissonnas and Marcel Breuer were careful not to disturb the natural surroundings by integrating the resort into nearby mountains. The layout blends in with the environment's contours, and the different levels which make up the resort can not be seen from one to the other. While cables and wires were hidden in tunnels to achieve a feeling of privacy and tranquillity. They invited urbanist Laurent Chappis who helped influence their plans in order to preserve the natural landscape.
The construction of the resort was not without difficulty. Chappis and Pradelle left after Breuer joined the team, Boissonnas fell out with the government official in charge of planning France's winter sports industry and when local landowners found out that Boissonnas was a billionaire they threatened to block the building of the access road to the resort until they received adequate compensation. The result was a three-year delay and huge cost overruns, and led to greater state involvement in French ski resort development. By the time the resort was opened on 17 January 1969 it had probably cost Boissonnas the equivalent of around $250 million from his personal fortune at 2005 prices.
The site is divided into two areas which are joined by two free lifts. The upper area, Flaine Forêt, at an altitude of 1,700 metres (5,600 ft), consists of a number of apartment buildings named after constellations, the Éric et Sylvie Boissonnas Auditorium, shops, offices and restaurants. The lower area, Flaine Forum, at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,200 ft), has more restaurants, shops, bars and accommodation. It contains Europe’s first snowmaking system.
The resort boasts a wealth of monumental works of art - "La Tête de Femme" by Pablo Picasso, "Le Boqueteau" by Jean Dubuffet, and "Les Trois Hexagones" by Victor Vasarely.
Flaine is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away from Geneva Airport, approximately 3 hours drive from Lyon, and 30 km from the A 40 motorway (l'Autoroute Blanche). It is close to resorts Les Houches, Les Contamines, large ski area Chamonix-Mont-Blanc as well as the Portes du Soleil region — notably resorts Les Gets and Morzine. Trips to Italy via the Mont Blanc Tunnel to Courmayeur are also possible.
Bus services are available several times a day to Taninges in the Giffre Valley (where resorts Morillon and Samoëns are situated) where buses to Geneva and Chamonix can be accessed. The bus service is run by Transdev Alpbus.