At an altitude of 1600 metres, with its natural curves and modernist lines, the resort of Les Arcs is not content with just getting skiers down the slopes. From 14 to 18 April 2025, it will be reviving its avant-garde DNA by hosting the third edition of the Design Festival. It's a unique event where ideas and skis come together, and where architecture takes to the heights.
Because here, the mountains are not just to be found in the sharp bends of a red runway. It can also be seen in the sleek angles of the buildings designed by Charlotte Perriand, pioneer of functional design, collaborator of Le Corbusier and founding spirit of the Bows.
READ MORE: Les Arcs: resort, ski area, ski passes, activities... Winter 2025 guide
In the 1960s, with developer Roger Godino, she imagined a futuristic, responsible resort that would respect the landscape and the great panoramic views. It was a utopia that became reality, and has now been awarded the "Outstanding Contemporary Architecture" label.
One resort, one vision, one festival
The 2025 festival promises to be rich, free and deeply rooted in the very identity of Les Arcs. The programme? Conferences, exhibitions, guided tours, a competition and an insight into the discreet beauty of this model resort.
The conferences will open the debate: they will talk about the creation of Les Arcs, the legacy of Perriand, but also the place of women in design and architecture. Themes that resonate with a resort designed from the outset with a feminist vision of comfort and functionality.
The guided tours will offer new perspectives: on foot, on skis or even from a listed flat, guide Jean-Marie Chevronnet will reveal the secrets of an integrated, balanced and contemporary architecture. It's an opportunity to take a fresh look at these buildings with their simple lines, often overlooked by holidaymakers focused on the ski area.
The architectural competition, organised by the Bourg-Saint-Maurice Town Hall - Les Arcswill be honouring local innovation. It will honour projects that are sustainable, inventive and focused on the future of the mountains. The winners will be unveiled during the festival, proving that architecture is not just a fixed heritage, but a field of continuous experimentation.
Design as the crest line
This festival is not just a tribute to the past. It's a signal to the future. Les Arcs is not a frozen postcard, but a laboratory resort, where design doesn't invite itself, it inhabits the place. Perriand saw it as a humanised mountain, never disfigured. Even today, her ideas are reflected in contemporary concerns: functional housing, raw materials, natural light, respect for the site.
At a time when the mountains are seeking a new balance in the face of global warming and pressure from tourism, the vision of Les Arcs is more than ever a model. At a time when sobriety, integration into the landscape and living together are the watchwords, this festival is much more than just a cultural event: it's a manifesto.
And what if design was, in the end, the best way forward?
All the latest news from Les Arcs can be found in our section devoted to the Paradiski resort.
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