New variations on Refuge Tonneau by Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand

When Pierre Jeanneret & Charlotte Perriand designed the REFUGE TONNEAU in 1938 they dreamed up a mobile shelter that would house up to eight people for short periods of time in a comfortable yet reduced environment. The entire structure was thought to be made from prefabricated aluminium and wood components that could be easily transported on the shoulders, high into the mountains and assembled within four days. Although never realised at the time, the ideas of this project influenced the later works of its creators and many others.

Eighty-two years later we designed new interior variations of the REFUGE TONNEAU. Our spaces vary from a spaceship cabin to a family shelter, a meditation camp to a chamber orchestra and a place for therapy to a cheese factory. The projects represent their creator's personality and experiences while putting an emphasis on contemporary living and aesthetics. Mobility, considered use of materials and functionality are paired with emotions, playfulness and the pure joy of being placed in a remote location. Pierre Jeanneret is an alumnus of HEAD – Genève, the School of Fine Arts, École des Beaux-Arts, Geneva where he was trained from 1913 to 1915 and from 1918 to 1921 before it merged into HEAD – Genève in 2006.