“Since time immemorial, life has flourished along river catchment areas.”

 

A river catchment area is the area within which a river and its tributaries flow, covering a series of slopes.

 

St Cergues is situated in the Arve catchment area, which stretches from the heart of the Northern Alps (mountainous region) around Chamonix to Geneva.

 

The river known as the Foron, a tributary of the Arve, flows through the commune of St Cergues. The name ‘Foron’ means ‘deep spring’; it is very commonly used to name watercourses in Haute-Savoie.

 

The Arve catchment area covers 2,074 km² from Mont Blanc to Lake Geneva, and its hydrographic network is very dense, ranging from high- and mid-mountain torrents to gently sloping rivers. The Arve and its tributaries flow through a wide variety of landscapes before reaching the valley near Geneva, which is more urbanised but also a highly attractive tourist destination.

 

The project aims to give tangible form to and celebrate this aquatic reality, symbolic of the region, through the presence of the catchment area that connects the different territories.

 

 

A symbolic connection to the nearby mountains. As Blandine Pluchet reminds us in *Le grand récit des montagnes*, mountains are the last pockets of wilderness in our modern society. They hold immense stories within them, for they are a refuge for the world in its original form.

 

A connection that enables the development of a necessary and sincere attachment, conducive to a sense of belonging to the local area.

 

The ‘1% Art’ project extends this architectural gesture: the school, which is itself an undulating landscape, is thus completed, nourished from within by the equally sinuous contours of the representation of watercourses that delineate sub-spaces resembling valleys.

 

The floors of both the CCC and the refectory become maps of imaginary territories where vegetation and watercourses coexist.

 

Symbolically, living near water means being part of rich biological corridors. This is why, within the CCC, the blue space near the water is the most informal.

 

The identity of the place and the artistic concept are based on the tree-like motif, so characteristic of the catchment area.

 

It is rendered on various scales (from a very large mural behind the CCC’s podium down to a bookend).

 

 

It is used both in two dimensions (to customise shelving, certain table legs, etc.) and in three dimensions to create a genuine space, such as the comic and manga reading area at the CCC, where visitors can relax around a waterfall feature.

The furniture is either customised through a collaboration with Mobidécor or created from scratch.

 

There are therefore two levels of intervention: either it is a partial intervention (changing the shape of the tops whilst retaining the structure, changing the chair backrest or adding side panelling to the shelves), which nevertheless has a significant visual impact.

 

Or the furniture has been entirely designed from scratch to create more distinctive styles: in the CCC, this applies to the structures within the informal area:

 

_the circular consultation lounge, which combines manga and comic book themes, allows for the presentation of information or drawings…

 

_the podium, which can be used for group readings or book presentations… and is situated opposite the magazine display.

 

The large open space that is the dining hall is subdivided into different areas by creating:

 

_ an indoor terrace along the window with specially designed furniture,

 

_ areas with raised tables,

 

_ smaller-scale areas with almost round tables,

 

_ screens featuring an artistic reference to river basins.

 

Colour is, of course, a key element in distinguishing these areas: in some places, a single colour is used consistently across the floor and furniture to create a calming atmosphere, whilst in others, a colour gradient is employed to lend them a livelier feel.

 

Wood takes centre stage to create a warm and comfortable ambience.