Projects by Name

Eric Boissonnas, a French developer who was Breuer’s neighbor in New Canaan, Connecticut, asked Breuer to plan a ski resort in the remote mountain valley of Flaine. The Sociéte d’études de participation et de développement (SEPAD) served as the promoter for the venture, the Bureau d’études et de realizations urbains (BERU) as economic-planning consultant, and Emile Allais as planner for the ski runs. Flaine allowed Breuer to construct a whole town, and he utilized functional urban planning principles that he had been grappling with since his model for the Garden City of the Future in 1936. The town was to house approximately 6,000 people in hotels, apartment buildings, row houses, chalets and workers’ quarters. Breuer’s plan also provided a town hall, post office, firehouse, school, chapel and shops along with recreational facilities like a cinema, skating rink, swimming pool and tennis courts. The buildings were all variations on the modular, load-bearing concrete façade panels Breuer often used in the later half of his career. In 1964, Breuer opened an office in Paris to oversee his European projects, including Flaine, with Robert Gatje as the partner in charge. The first phase of the project was completed in 1968. Construction on a second phase, which included the Hôtel Résidence at Fédération and the chapel, took place between 1974 and 1976.