Villa Fallet, Style Sapin villa in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.
Villa Fallet is a detached single-family house in the Sapin style in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, with a facade decorated with carved fir tree and geometric motifs. The building has a steeply pitched roof, a stone base, and a wood-clad upper section that follows the construction methods common in this alpine region.
The house was built in 1906 and was the first completed architectural project by Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, later known as Le Corbusier. He designed it while still a student at the arts school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, working under the guidance of his teacher Charles L'Eplattenier.
The facade of Villa Fallet is covered with fir tree motifs and geometric patterns that were part of a local style known as "Sapin," meaning fir, rooted in the crafts of the Jura region. Visitors today can walk around the exterior and see how these natural forms were carved directly into the stonework and painted woodwork.
The house stands on Chemin de Pouillerel, on a slope at the edge of La Chaux-de-Fonds town center, and can be reached on foot from downtown. The ground around the building is uneven, so sturdy footwear is a good idea, and only the exterior is publicly visible.
Although the house is now listed as a class A Swiss cultural property of national significance, it was originally a straightforward private commission for a middle-class family. Jeanneret was 18 years old when it was completed, making it one of the earliest known works by any architect who later reached worldwide recognition.
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