Iconic Life

Maison Henry Jacques Le Même offers a line of furniture inspired by the legacy of architect Henry Jacques Le Même, designed and produced in limited series from his personal archives. The company was founded at the end of 2022 by Antoine Pioger, a lover of exceptional craftsmanship and the architect's work. Thibaud Elzière has fallen in love with the company. A fascinating discovery.

The architecture of Megève in the last century is dominated by the figure of Henry-Jacques Le Même. Ever since he designed a chalet for Baroness Noémie de Rothschild in the 1920s, freely inspired by the region's farmhouses, this brilliant architect has been regarded as the inventor of the skier's chalet - comfortable, functional and open to the surrounding landscape. His work has made a major contribution to defining individual mountain living.

Iconic House, in its Le 1550 chalet, has the privilege of housing the first copy of the Prieuré floor lamp, of which 30 will be produced. This collector's item, made from solid oak from French forests, was crafted by carpenters in Megève.

THE INVENTOR OF THE SKIER'S CHALET

Henry Jacques Le Même (1897-1997) built almost 250 chalets in the Alps, mainly in the resorts of Megève and Combloux, using an innovative architectural vocabulary. His chalets were born of a constraint originally imposed by his first client in Megève, the Baroness of Rothschild, who wanted a "country farm" for her accommodation, adapted to modern uses and the skiing habits of elegant tourists. For her, Henry Jacques Le Même designed a now-famous archetype, the "skier's chalet", recognisable by its double-sloped roof, stone base and special joinery. He designed interior fittings and meticulous furniture for each of his clients, with all the refinement he had acquired from Emile Jacques Ruhlmann, whose pupil he was.

"He became a living legend. Respected and loved like a magician by all those who followed the exceptional development of the two Savoies, Henry-Jacques Le Même was a crusader of meticulous talent. Inspired to his very core by all that the French provinces can draw from the past to fertilise the modern present, he has given birth to a great Region and a perfect style." Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber

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