Val-Thorens is Europe’s highest winter sports resort, and is often voted the “coolest” in the world by legions of young snowboarders. Dubuisson Architecture won a tightly-contested contract for a project to design and construct a new sports centre and aqua-spa, located at the heart of the resort between the main roads into the town and the snow front.
Starting from the all-important fact that Val-Thorens is considered the coolest winter sports resort for young people, we packaged our design bid to create a central urban focal point - something that was missing from the overall layout of the resort, and which would give the face of the town a makeover to match its reputation. As such, we designed a central plaza for the resort in the form of a snowboard, with a lookout point at the edge of a 4,000-square metre space, with the flexed shape and double tail immediately recognisable to any snowboarder (who make up the resorts’ main clientele). This elevated central plaza is designed as a space to host events, channel foot traffic and activities, and also serves as the roof of the sports centre and aqua-spa, positioned between a shopping mall and bus station.
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