In June 2024, the AW² (Reda Amalou and Stéphanie Ledoux), based in Paris, Geneva and Montpellier, completed four ‘cabins’, the first in a collaboration with Coucoo Cabanes tourism company. They join the existing 25 on the 150-hectare Grands-Lacs estate in the village of Chassey-lès-Montbozon in Franche-Comté, East of France. With an average surface area of 30 sq.m, the cabins allow the architects to explore a new scale for hospitality projects, using local materials such as Douglas fir, sourced 1h15 from the site. Built on stilts, these shelters blend into the surrounding natural environment while offering unobstructed views of the forest and lakes.

---

 

‘These new cabins are designed over three levels housed in a protective envelope. The cabin’s design is reminiscent of a bud just before it blossoms: the external structure opens up to reveal the interior spaces, sheltered but open to the surrounding landscape.’, explain the architects.

 

‘The cabins were prefabricated in the workshop, then transported to the site. This prefabrication process, together with the use of adapted lifting equipment, meant that the construction time on site was reduced (only four days per cabin) and the impact on the terrain was minimal, thereby helping to protect the site and its biodiversity’

 

---

Coucoo Cabanes Grands Lacs, Chassey-Lès-Montbozon, Franche-Comté, France 

Programmes: Construction of four cabins on the 150-hectare Grands Lacs estate in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, East of France
Client: Coucoo Cabanes
Architect: AW²
Photographs: David Rosemberg
Completion: June 2024

In 2022, AA dedicated its October issue to ‘Follies’, available from our online shop.