Charlotte Perriand stools les Arcs - 1960's

Solid pine wood, stools, side tables, Charlotte Perriand, Les Arcs, France, 1960s.

Les Arcs, a 1960s ski resort in France designed by a collective of architects led by Charlotte Perriand, is celebrating its half centenary. In part of the Paradiski area, Les Arcs is formed of four villages named for their altitude, Arc 1600, Arc 1800, Arc 2000, and Arc 1950. The first villages were built first and under Perriand, and are significant examples of 20th-century Alpine architecture.
Perriand aimed to push the boundaries of prefabrication to make producing high-quality mass housing possible in the short summer building seasons. Les Arcs was built on a greenfield site, with lifts and new buildings added each year as the resort expanded. The architects also carefully preserved the existing cowherd huts that dot the slopes.
The architect, then in her 60s, was at the peak of her career in 1967 when she was brought on board to lead a team of young architects tasked with turning a plot of virgin alpine pasture into a ski resort.

Charlotte Perriand (24 October 1903 – 27 October 1999) was a French architect and designer. Her work aimed to create functional living spaces to believe that better design helps create a better society. In her article "L'Art de Vivre" from 1981, she states "The extension of the art of dwelling is the art of living — living in harmony with man's deepest drives and with his adopted or fabricated environment." Charlotte liked to take her time in space before starting the design process. In Perriand's Autobiography, "Charlotte Perriand: A Life of Creation", she states: "I like being alone when I visit a country or historic site. I like being bathed in its atmosphere, feeling in direct contact with the place without the intrusion of a third party." Her approach to design includes taking in the site and appreciating it for what it is. Perriand felt she connected with any site she was working with or just visiting she enjoyed the living things and would reminisce on a site that was presumed dead.