Chamonix was selected in 1969 to welcome this sports, cultural and experimental centre located at the foot of the “Mont-Blanc”.

The project of this sports centre comprises 6.000 square meters and several open hectares. It contains a polyvalent gymnasium surrounded by several sports halls and a covered swimming-pool with its related installations.

The cultural centre was built after the sports centre and occupies about 41,000 square meters of floor, including a school complex of the first and second levels (1,200 students, 600 of them in residence), a municipal library and the renowned French National School of Altitude Sports.

As he had done for other projects of similar nature, Roger Taillibert strove to develop these two complex concepts with a sober architectural design, economical and functional and in complete harmony with the site,.

Resorting to the principe of the spherical concrete vault resting on three points, he designed a series of neatly-defined horizontal spaces. The dimensions and spans of the vaults vary from 22 to 60 meters, according to the spaces covered. Each vault is reinforced on three sides with ribs up to 90 centimeters thick acting both as stiffeners and as gargoyles for the flow of melting snow during the thaw. These ribs meet on concrete bodies that serve as abutment piers and carry the loads of several vaults.

The abutment piers are linked by prestessed concrete located underground for the sports centre and above the ground for the cultural centre, since they serve as framework for the first level. Nine vaults cover the sports centre and nineteen the cultural centre over 6000 m

The architect took advantage of a diffence in land level to locate the vaults and some skylights at different heights, making move noticeable for the various functions and the plurality of spaces. The variation in the heights underlines the diversity of the volumes without giving them undue importance. This way, the complex blends harmoniously into the imposing landscape. The diversity of volumes is completed by a series of water basins and green spaces that provide the link with the magnificent landscape of the valley.