Swiss architects Group8 have won a competition to build luxury villas as part of a new mountain resort called New Andermatt in Switzerland.
The project is confidential for now but Group8 tell us the villas will be completed by 2009.
Here’s a bit of text from the architects:
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NEW ANDERMATT
New Andermatt is a unique opportunity to rethink our relation to radical landscapes and traditional settlements, a rare occasion to implant a new urban structure in a breathtaking mountain context.
Although the new village will be attached to the existing village of Andermatt, its character, its architecture and organization will be fatally different. Tradition, nature and contemporary culture will live together in an harmonious exchange.
How can architecture deal with such a strong and powerful site? How can modernity be installed in this traditional context? New Andermatt will be faced with these two fundamental questions. It will be a place where architecture will be confronted to its condition of altering any context in which it inscribes itself.
It will certainly prove its capacities of integrating itself in the history of mountain settlements and it will probably partially fail to establish a real dialogue with nature at its most powerful and beautiful demonstration.
The New Andermatt will be a dreamlike experience. It will belong to the ancient and ambiguous experience of admiration and fear of nature. New Andermatt is a carved dream.
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Posted by Marcus Fairs
December 18th, 2007 at 8:42 pm
Finally, somebody with enough balls to go against the “greens”. Architecture that stomps the terra!
December 18th, 2007 at 10:53 pm
“The project is confidential for now” ?! Eh?
Didn’t realise Dezeen was part of some top-secret network which I presumably – by being able to see – must also be a part of?
Am I in the Masons already?!
December 19th, 2007 at 3:20 am
Does anyone know which program was used to render these photos?
I love the soft touches that was produced in the photos. Works so well.
December 19th, 2007 at 9:42 am
December 19th, 2007 at 11:22 am
There’s nothing like modern architecture!
I’ve been taking a look at these guys’ website… not bad at all!
Can’t wait to see the chalets built and pictures taken.
December 19th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
I bet the “soft touches” you’re talking about were added/embellished in Photoshop – some gradients, gradient masks, and well-placed blurs would probably do the trick. The actual architectural renderings are pretty standard, but, agreed, the superimposed background photos are nice and polished.
December 19th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Who’s that man in black suit?
December 19th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
when will this be a reality? i’d love to see the end result. I want to see such house built. love it.
December 20th, 2007 at 12:09 am
two very standard contemporary houses photoshoped into some standard
alp -pics…hmmm well not so interesting…
JQL is right the question that counts here is:
Who’s that man in the black suit?
December 20th, 2007 at 8:26 am
It’s obvious that it HIS house! Don’t mess with the man in black.
December 20th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
from what my french allows me to read, the cost of this project is confidential, not the projecet itself.
December 20th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
sorry if i am going against the current here… but of all the piles of mediocre projects why show this one… the only reason i comment is for the low standards of meritocracy being displayed…. please!
December 20th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
automobiles in renderings is always a nice touch.
December 22nd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
the project is not confidential and has been published a month ago in switzerland, and group8 is not by far the only winner, there is a whole group of architects that worked on it and get to build. so actually there is no real winner at all…
December 24th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
as a matter of fact what swiss say is absolutely true. As it was said to dezeen (and misunderstood I guess) the group8 proposal was one among of a whole team of architects working on the villa resort in Andermatt. 9 architects were chosen (in that sense there are 9 winners) among more or less 20 entries. 50 villas will be built by these 9 architects.
April 1st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Finally someone who can write a good blog ! I loved your post and will be telling others about it. Subscribing to your RSS feed now. Thanks
July 31st, 2009 at 6:05 am
I like the airy, if not somewhat “mystical” quality to these renderings. It’s nice for a change.