The World's Most Extraordinary Homes

Piers Taylor and Caroline Quentin travel to Switzerland. Architecture here is influenced by the neighbouring European countries and the dramatic landscape has inspired four homes that all make the most of astonishing views. They start their journey in a tiny hamlet called Jeurs, 1,300 metres up in the Alps and in the shadow of Mont Blanc. Maison Aux Jeures is a four-bedroom house, commissioned by Olivier and Celine, a young Geneva couple who wanted a bolthole to escape their hectic work life. They asked architect Simon Chessix to design something unique and bold. He built a contemporary take on a Swiss chalet - a V-shaped house, split down the middle and separated into two 45-degree angles. The exterior walls are clad with black-stained larch and the angular roofs echo the mountain peaks.