Restaurant and nightclub "Chlösterli", Gstaad, 2006
Keystone
Building an attic, Grüsch, 1955
RDB
Chalet on stilts, Meggen, 2014
Keystone
Post office in Lumbrein, canton Graubünden, 2009
Keystone
Adelboden, 2015, and Liz Taylor with her children in Gstaad, 1962
Keystone
Crans-Montana, Valais, 2014
Keystone
Burned out chalet in Nendaz, Valais, 2005
Keystone
Roman Polanski on the balcony of his chalet, Gstaad, 2010
Keystone
Army exercises in central Switzerland, 1960
RDB
Chalet with Christmas lights, Meggen, 2012
Keystone
It’s been a shock: the wooden chalet – so long a perfect symbol of Swissness – has been found to be an import designed by foreign architects and encouraged by alpine tourism.
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Journalist and deputy head of the swissinfo.ch editorial group for German, French and Italian. Earlier, worked for Teletext and Switzerland’s French-language national broadcaster.
Swiss researcher Daniel Stockhammer has concluded that foreign architects, mainly Germans, first developed the traditional Swiss woodwork cottage of the 19th century.
“The emergence of a Swiss style of woodwork was accompanied by a distinct turning point in the country’s engagement with national architecture, as architects … began to mine generations of traditional woodwork knowledge for their academic research,” he wrote. “The Swiss style existed abroad before being known here.”
The style – as can be seen in all its glory in our gallery – was meant to appeal to alpine travellers, Stockhammer argued in his thesis at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ).
All Images: Keystone and RDB, Text: Samuel Jaberg, swissinfo.ch
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
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What’s more Swiss than a chalet?
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The “Swiss style” chalet conjures up the simple life of mountain people set amid a postcard backdrop of cows, cheese and watches. Yet a doctoral student, Daniel Stockhammer, concludes that foreign architects, mainly Germans, first developed the traditional Swiss woodwork cottage of the 19th century. “The emergence of a Swiss style of woodwork was accompanied…
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For a dozen American carpenters and wood enthusiasts on an 11-day tour of Switzerland, the best sights are well off the beaten track.
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The theme is about discovering architecture that will be valid for future generations, rather than projects that aim to make big statements and impress the critics. (SF/RSI-swissinfo.ch)
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.