The Drei Berge Hotel
M LE MONDE
In the Swiss village of Mürren, the Drei Berge is the first hotel project of multi-entrepreneur Ramdane Touhami, who is revisiting the mountain codes in a very cinematic atmosphere, somewhere between David Lynch and Wes Anderson.
Story by Litza Georgopoulos for M, le magazine du Monde
Raffael Bader
STUDIO VISIT
“I understand my painting as an open process, so I do not seek perfection, which would seem like the end of potential. Thus, I have realized that the possibility of imperfection leads me to an abstract way of working, where I can focus on the essentials and create works that invite the viewer to resonate with their own experience and inner state. In the process of creating an image, I look for what presents itself to me as the core elements of nature. I find this in landscapes and their colors, shapes, and lines, which awaken our longings while simultaneously containing the subtle presence of danger. Images emerge, originating from reality. However, not the one that is currently being experienced, but the reality that forms in me over time, manifesting itself in my paintings. The forms found move between strong abstraction and familiar structures.
Most of the paintings start with “notes,” which are small, simple drawings that arise intuitively, then I decide whether I want to paint them. When I begin with these drawings, the painting quickly takes on a life of its own. I paint with oil paint and oil pencils on canvas. I use a medium that makes the oil paint water-miscible so that I can create very thin watery layers as well as thicker ones. In conjunction with the oil pencils, I can create different textures. It is important to me that the canvas does not appear completely covered in paint. I also work with different techniques on paper.”
Born in 1987, Raffael Bader lives and works in Leipzig, Germany, and is represented by Enari Gallery.
Switzerland's Aletsch Glacier
LE MONDE
Where to travel in 2024? This year, Le Monde answers that question with 10 travel picks accessible by train from France. Number 4: Europe's largest glacier, the Aletsch.
Walking on Europe's largest glacier in Switzerland is a unique and educational experience. For it is by being at the heart of these breathtaking landscapes, accessible without a car, that we come to appreciate their fragility.
Taking in the view from the nearby summits is an emotional experience. But stepping out onto its ice induces a thrill of an entirely different kind. Coming into contact with the Aletsch Glacier, Europe's largest, is a truly ceremonial experience. It originates from beneath the highest mountains of the Swiss Valais, forming a 22-kilometer-long, 11 billion-tonne ice mass with an area of 81 square kilometers.
Story by Cécile Cazenave for Le Monde
Caran d’Ache
M, LE MONDE
Caran d'Ache, the family-owned pencil and writing instrument factory in the canton of Geneva, continues to produce locally an exceptionally rich palette of colours.
The company, one of the last of its kind in Europe, is an emblem of Swiss know-how, recognisable by its red metal boxes decorated with a white cross. Founded in 1915 under the name “Fabrique genevoise de crayons”, the factory was bought and renamed in 1924 after the French caricaturist Caran d'Ache. Many artists were won over by its instruments, from Picasso to Miró.
In the Thônex headquarters, pigments, mineral fillers and binders are mixed to transform them into pencil leads. After drying, the pencils are assembled in wood, California cedar, before being varnished and packed by hand. A total of 35 steps are necessary.
Story by Marie Godfrain for M, le magazine du Monde
THE AALTO HOUSE
Aino & Alvar Aalto
Designed as both a family home and an office by the architect couple Aino and Alvar Aalto in 1934 and completed in August 1936 in Helsinki, the Aalto House was decades ahead of its time, which explains the great modernity it still retains today.
Pure and warm, it is designed according to Alvar Aalto's own aesthetic, integrating the building into the landscape with perfect harmony, and giving priority to the human experience in relation to nature. The architecture favors wood and white-painted, lightly rendered brickwork, and is oriented towards the lush, green garden, while the subtle separation of private and public spaces through material choices gives the house a surprising functionality.
The Aalto house is a cosy, intimate and practical building designed by two architects for themselves and elegantly furnished in every detail.
“The ultimate goal of the architect…is to create a paradise.
Every house, every product of architecture…
should be a fruit of our endeavour to build an earthly paradise for people.”
— Alvar Aalto
