Countdown to 2020, when luxury watchmakers Audemars Piguet will show off a striking new hotel in the Vallée de Joux, located 30 miles north of Geneva that’s recognized as the birthplace of Swiss horology. The Hôtel des Horlogers d’Audemars Piguet will be located next to the Audemars Piguet museum, which will tell the story of the brand and its history. In fact, this project will create a veritable “Audemars Campus.”
The Hôtel des Horlogers will be designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in collaboration with Lausanne-based CCHE Architecture. Skiers will actually be able to ski along the hotel’s rooftop, conceived as a sloping zigzag of five ramps. BIG describes the new Hôtel des Horlogers as an “evolution of the hotel typology… (it) seamlessly rises from the surrounding landscape and gently unfolds onto the site.” In this way, the roof morphs into the ski terrain, leading skiers on a path to the pistes. The hotel’s cool architecture incorporates sliding slabs which become terraces overlooking the valley. On the inside of the Hôtel des Horlogers, there will be a “continuous sloping corridor” that connects the 50 guestrooms. Facilities will include two restaurants, a bar, a spa and a conference center.
A recent Barron's article notes that this is “the latest in a string of upscale resorts opened by fashion brands hoping to leverage their global prestige with a move into the hospitality space.” We’ve seen hotel projects by the likes of Versace, Armani, Bulgari, and—most recently—Fauchon, renowned for couture-style gourmet goods in Paris. Missoni also dabbled in hospitality years back but ultimately decided to quit the hotel ventures, though Rosita Missoni designed a suite at the legendary Byblos hotel in Saint Tropez last year.
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