{"id":778,"date":"2014-10-22T15:55:55","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T13:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/wordpress\/?p=778"},"modified":"2018-02-20T12:17:05","modified_gmt":"2018-02-20T11:17:05","slug":"traditional-alpine-chalet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mountainpassions.com\/summer\/mountain-living\/traditional-alpine-chalet\/","title":{"rendered":"Traditional Alpine Chalet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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T<\/span>he classic Alpine chalet has become an instantly recognisable icon of mountain living, with many examples having been transformed into desirable homes and luxury leisure accommodation. However, the decorative features which are today considered so attractive have always been of secondary importance to more practical considerations.<\/p>\n

Originally these were simple mountain farmhouses in which ordinary families would live and work, either throughout the year or during the snow-free months, when cattle were moved to ever-higher altitudes to benefit from the rich, wildflower-enriched grazing which followed the snow\u2019 gradual retreat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This explains why farming families often possessed a series of chalets and barns (\u2018granges<\/em>\u2019) sited at isolated points and successivley higher altitudes along the annual migration route from the valley floor farms to the high pastures or \u2018alpages<\/em>\u2019. In the French Alps the seasonal migration is known as \u2018la transhumance<\/em>\u2019.<\/p>\n

Milk from the dairy herds was (and still is) employed in the production of highly-prized hard cheeses, so the often-remote chalets were also places of work. Many of them remain so today, for artisan cheesemakers who graze their cattle on the lush summer pastures to create superlative hard cheeses identified as aplage \u00e9t\u00e9<\/em>. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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From Valley to Valley<\/h2>\n

Despite their instantly recognisable popular image, the buildings\u2019 architectural styles can be seen to vary greatly from one region (or even one valley) to another in response to the availability of construction materials, which were normally sourced from nearby. Where wood is plentiful – in the Beaufortain<\/strong>, Faucigny<\/strong> and Haut-Chablais<\/strong> areas of Savoie<\/strong>, for example – the results look very different from those which had to rely largely on stone (e.g. in the Chartreuse<\/strong>, Bauges<\/strong>, Maurienne<\/strong> and Tarentaise<\/strong>) or even, in some rarer cases, cob (\u2018pis\u00e9<\/em>\u2019).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\ndecorative features which are today considered so attractive have always been of secondary importance to more practical considerations…\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Subtle Refinements<\/h2>\n

The apparent simplicity of mountain chalet construction can be deceptive. Each of the regional styles is founded upon centuries of experience and refinement in what are generally harsh and unforgiving environments. Beneath the superficial details, however, it\u2019s immediately apparent just how much they have in common. The most typical approach includes a stone-built ground floor, divided into two or three areas and often partly recessed into the mountainside to afford a degree of protection from bitter prevailing winds.<\/p>\n

The presence of cattle and other livestock stabled here generated some extra warmth for the human accommodation above, while undesirable odours were carried away by the passage of air through small window openings in the stonework. This provided a solid foundation for the more visible timber upper stages, supported by a framework of massive piers and joists, frequently of seasoned spruce (or \u2018\u00e9pic\u00e9a<\/em>\u2019).<\/p>\n

This slow-growing timber can live for 500 years or more, and contains tannins which darken upon prolonged contact with the atmosphere, eventually allowing the chalet to blend harmoniously into its natural surroundings. This process is obviously much less likely to happen when less durable timbers used in modern construction, since they require protection against decay by applied chemical finishes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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