design et al are delighted to announce that Morpheus London have been shortlisted for Ski Chalet Award within The International Design and Architecture Awards 2018.
The designer was given a year to create a full turn key design for a 5,400 square foot luxury five bedroom Chalet in 1850 Courchevel, one of the best ski resorts in the French Alps. The client enjoys everything the mountains has to offer including both the summer and winter seasons, so the design had to be adaptable and accommodating to this.
For Morpheus London a huge part of this process is extensive research into any projects natural surroundings. The Lodge, being in the French Alps, there are so many natural elements that are constantly changing throughout the seasons allowing for huge design potential. The designers used a combination of textured, intricate materials throughout taking inspiration from geological features and the complex composition of ice with natural rough-hewn stone creating a harmony with the external environment.
Lighting was incredibly important to the client so was very carefully procured with both an architectural and aesthetic eye. Throughout the Lodge the designer collaborated with lighting designers Rocco Borghese, in particular the chandelier above the dining table was made out of hand blown cracked glass shaped to resemble cracked ice creating a puzzle of 100s of pieces. The amount of design detail and skill that went into the creation of this is clear in the finished product.
Morpheus London also collaborated with Officina Coppola to design the bespoke panel on the front of the kitchen unit which is almost a piece of art developed from the concept of the cracked and melting ice directly from the brief and dream created by the designer again, directly linking the whole scheme together in the smaller detail.
One of the favourite aspects of the project for the designer, is the view looking towards the fireplace joinery because there are so many elements that link the design with the dream aspect, from the bespoke doors, base build and FF&E items to the last carefully selected accessories. There are countless textures and shapes within this space featured in the furniture and base build representing the cracked ice from the dream and the earthy, rich colours from the surrounding environment, this space really highlights and captures the entire vision of the project.
Part of the design brief was that the design must be fully flowing and compliment the stunning mountain-top setting to give the end user a feel of being fully immersed in the natural environment with the end look being comfortable, welcoming and relaxed but show a high level of skill and craftsmanship. The design really captures the surrounding environment and brings it to life within this luxury chalet so there is a seamless transition from outside to inside. Every aspect has been designed with a purpose and fully takes into consideration all the natural surroundings to bring the design context and relevance.