Photo essay: why do so many people hate the Brutalist architecture of Flaine" To find out, photographer Alastair Philip Wiper travelled to the Marcel Breuer-designed ski resort in the French Alps often referred to as "phlegm".
Flaine was commissioned in the 1960s by a couple fascinated with Modern architecture. They invited the Hungarian architect to create the resort in the Brutalist style ? which he also used to design the former Whitney Museum in New York, recently reopened as The Met Breuer.

The concrete hotels and public buildings didn't go down well with visitors looking for traditional Alpine cabins. According to Wiper, this has led to animosity towards the resort and neglect of its structures.
In this photo essay, the photographer explains why he believes that the recent surge of interest in the architectural style could help restore Breuer's vision for Flaine.
"What a wonderful site! How do we avoid spoiling it"" Marcel Breuer, architect of Flaine, 1960
A quick Google of the purpose-built skiing resort of Flaine reveals one thing above all else: most people think it is extremely ugly.

Built in the 1960s by one of the most respected and renowned proponents of Modernist Bauhaus architecture, Marcel Breuer, the resort (much of which is listed as protected by the French Ministry of Culture) had nothing but noble intentions.
"We came up with the idea in 1959 to create, somewhere in France, a prototype for urban planning, architect...