Architecture and interior design

The Hotel des Horlogers’ avant-garde architecture was imagined by by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Having fallen in love with the Risoud Forest, which borders the Vallée de Joux, Bjarke Ingels conceived the hotel so that all the rooms would offer a breath-taking view of the region. Departing from the usual codes of hotel architecture, the building consists of zigzagging slabs descending towards the valley and tilting slightly to embrace the topography while creating a continuous path in nature. On the interior, a continuous ramping concrete corridor connects all the rooms to facilitate both visitor and service circulation. The amenities are tucked under the inclined slabs and oriented towards light and views of the landscape. To build and arrange the hotel’s 8,715 sqm surface, BIG worked in collaboration with CCHE, the appointed local architect and general planner. Both were also involved in the construction of the Musée Atelier Audemars Piguet. The hotel’s interior design has been imagined by AU*M as a tribute to the surrounding landscape. 

In a poetic manner, the trees in the lobby act as a reference to the vegetation of the area and to the network of roots that result from tearing off strips of ground to model the shape of the hotel. The shape of the reception desk composed of numerous layers of wood may remind of the fossils that can often be found in Jura. In the bar, the large rock-like ceiling lights look like emptied out mountains or lakes that have been turned upside-down. At the restaurant, large blocks of stone give structure to the room, separating the dining areas from the busier aisles. Two pebble-shaped booth seats organize the layout of the room. And finally, each of the fifty hotel bedrooms is unique with distinctive features. However, all the bedrooms share a common graphic identity, which relies on the sophisticated glasswork used to cover the outside walls of the bathrooms. All the tiles, mirrors and glass panels have been designed to offer a very specific type of reflection and perception of depth. Visiting the hotel is somehow like wandering in the woods and discovering a new universe…