
Opening Aquatic Centre Courchevel, France
Courchevel, a chic ski region in the “Haute Savoie”, is part of the “Trois Vallées”, one of the biggest groups of ski regions in the world. The waterpark is located on a dell between the mountain stations Courchevel 1550 and Courchevel 1650, from which spectacular panoramas of the surrounding mountains are offered. To the South, alpine mountain ranges, to the North, a soft mountain landscape with dotted chalets and the Mont Blanc massif. The prominent location of the building, and the fact that it is visible from all its surrounding slopes and stations, requires a subtle embedding of the volume into the topography. The roof landscape and its merging with nature are of great importance to the design. The mountainous landscape influences the organic play on forms of the building's hull, and the structure is formed from the surroundings and identifies itself with it. A duality is developed between the green roofscape and the underlying water world containing the inner and outer pools, the kids' area, the wild water river, a bouldering hall, a restaurant and shops.