Inside a one-of-its-kind World Home in Gstaad by architect Francis Kéré
Conventional wisdom suggests that too many cooks would disturb the creative kitchen. But Nachson Mimran—a free-spirited activist working at the intersection of climate science and refugee empowerment—is not one to abide by hackneyed thinking. “The more the better,” muses Mimran, cofounder of the foundation and platform to.org. “Let’s let loose.” It was just that mindset that appealed to a philanthropist-entrepreneur looking to build a private residence in Gstaad, a Swiss ski town synonymous with alpine glamour. More than simply a home, the project was meant to be a catalyst for cultural exchange, foregrounding the work of designers and makers from around the world, with a particular emphasis on Africa and the African diaspora. Entrusted by the client with that open-ended mandate, Mimran acted as the project’s creative director, orchestrating both individual commissions and the larger ethos of collaboration. As he reflects, “What ideas emerge when you bring together a lot of strong voices?”
Chief among those was AD100 Hall of Famer Francis Kéré, whom Mimran met by chance over dinner, several years before the architect won the Pritzker Prize. The two immediately bonded over their past work in refugee camps—Mimran, who grew up between West Africa and Switzerland, having dedicated himself to creating spaces for culture and connection within displaced communities, Kéré having designed schools in rural Burkina Faso, where he was born. In Gstaad, the men have joined forces to disrupt the local vernacular, reimagining two classic chalets as vessels for contemporary innovation.
Designed with Chaletbau Matti, a Swiss firm specializing in the traditional alpine housing type, the side-by-side residences abide by strict local building codes, which dictate everything from the style of buildings down to the angles of roofs. “Gstaad feels like a fairy tale, extremely charming but also extremely homogeneous,” notes Mimran. “Constraints push you to think outside the box.” Within the homes’ conventional shells, he and Kéré collaborated on a series of interventions that address the property’s multifold ambitions, which Mimran distills into three themes: Regenerate, Think, and Play.
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Linking the chalets, the Regenerate space features an indoor-outdoor swimming pool, for which Kéré conceived an undulating canopy of 9,964 bamboo poles, laser-cut at varied lengths. “You don’t need extremely expensive materials to create something unique and high level,” says Kéré, whose work has long pioneered low-cost building techniques. He likens the installation to the cosmos (a metaphor he previously explored at his pavilion for Montana’s Tippet Rise Art Center). “It’s meant to be the universe,” he explains, albeit “a different configuration of what the universe could be.” It’s also a place to relax, whether in solitude or surrounded by friends and family. “The pool should touch all the senses—the visual, the emotional, the tactile,” says Kéré. “Water embraces the user.”
The basement, meanwhile, serves as a discotheque and games room dedicated to the concept of Play. (“We named spaces after what we wanted them to manifest,” Mimran explains.) Francis Kéré devised interior architecture flexible enough to accommodate crowds of all sizes, sharing the creative wand with Thomas Karsten and Alexandra Erhard of Studio Karhard, the designers of Berlin’s Berghain nightclub, who helped outfit the subterranean spaces. Guests can cozy up along upholstered banquettes; bowl a match in the state-of-the-art alley, enlivened by a Victor Ekpuk mural; shoot a game of pool on the bespoke marble table; or retreat inside the shaggy nest sculpture made by Porky Hefer in collaboration with Ousmane Mbaye, Doulsy, and Ali Mbaye. Here, Mimran says, people can “let the animal spirit out.”
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The living area of one chalet became the so-called Think forum, dedicated to reflection and conversation. Kéré conceived an open circular hearth crowned by a metal hood that pulls the eye toward the sky, its asymmetrical conical form encouraging “ideas to flow in different directions.” Growing up in Burkina Faso, he recalls, there was no electricity. “On a cold night you would surround the fire. This is where stories get told. That was my vision—a place for the community of the house to gather.” For the other chalet’s living area, meanwhile, he designed a staircase inspired by a baobab tree, a symbol, Mimran notes, “of wisdom and safety.”
Taken as a whole, the project incorporates the vision of countless global talents. The London-based design firm Muza Lab decorated interiors; French lighting maestro Hervé Descottes calibrated the rooms’ consistently exquisite glow; curator Mehdi Dakhli consulted on commissions; Mattia Conconi of the Swiss design firm Gottschalk+Ash International developed iconography; and AD100 landscape architect Sara Zewde reimagined the grounds with native plants and concrete walls that evoke Saharan mineral deposits. Other collaborations include chairs by Yinka Ilori, fabrics by Aissa Dione, and chandeliers by Ini Archibong, who made a monumental fixture to cascade down one stairwell. Joining that mix are site-specific artworks by the likes of Billie Zangewa, Esther Mahlangu, and Rashid Johnson. And there’s more on the way, with ambitions for an artist residency dubbed Create—a fourth conceptual pillar—slated for a third chalet on the property.
A panoply of perspectives, of course, was always the intention—to bring people together, excite their minds, and see what breakthroughs come. Reflecting on the team effort, Mimran says, “everyone was out of their comfort zone. We gave everyone permission to fail but also to dream big.” Check your egos, in other words, at the chalets’ doors. Says Kéré: “In debate we create harmony.”
1/20AD100 landscape architect Sara Zewde made conceptual links between Africa and the Alps.
2/20Kéré designed a fireplace with an asymmetrical metal hood for a living area; stools by Madoda Fani.
3/20Carved-walnut cabinetry by Chaletbau Matti and Kéré complements interior walls made of rammed earth, straw, and hemp.
Art: Rashid Johnson/Hauser & Wirth4/20In one living room, a site-specific mural by Rashid Johnson crowns woodwork and a fireplace designed by Kéré.
Art: Georges Mathieu © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris.5/20An Ini Archibong light fixture hangs above a dining suite by Balla Niang; artwork by Georges Mathieu.
6/20Niches in a rammed-earth wall display an installation by Lina Iris Viktor.
7/20A bathroom features carved woodwork by Chaletbau Matti and Kéré; interior design by Muza Lab.
8/20Muza Lab outfitted a mezzanine seating alcove with upholstered walls and a banquette; lamps by Alexander Lamont.
9/20The sauna’s etched-glass door was designed by Chaletbau Matti.
Photo: Abdoulaye Konaté10/20An indoor hydroponic farm by Babylon Micro-Farms greets visitors arriving through the subterranean carport; in the entry beyond, artworks by Pierre Huyghe and Abdoulaye Konaté.
11/20Studio Karhard created a circular fireplace for the basement “play” space.
12/20The home’s record collection.
13/20A lounge area designed by Studio Karhard for the basement “play” space; DJ booth by Ousmane Mbaye.
Art: Victor Ekpuk14/20A mural by Victor Ekpuk enlivens the bowling alley.
15/20Mimran (left) and Kéré beside the “Regenerate” pool.
16/20Kéré (left) and Mimran outside the pool.
17/20A balcony frames views of the Alps. Kéré based the carved and pierced woodwork—both inside and outside the chalets—on traditional Swiss-alpine façades.
18/20A folly by the Danish art collective Superflex uses discarded stone from Portugal.
19/20Mimran (left) and Kéré in one of the boulder-like installations that Zewde created for the grounds.
20/20A view of the grounds and the Swiss Alps beyond.
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