Louis Fallet, a master watchmaker and jeweller, was also a member of the adminstrative body of the Art School in La Chaux-de-Fonds. He commissioned Charles L’Éplattenier, a teacher at the School and mentor of the young Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, to build a family home in the Pouillerel neighbourhood. L’Éplattenier proposed that Jeanneret build this house in collaboration with the architect René Chapallaz. It was the first house worked on by the young man who had not yet become Le Corbusier.
Building took place between 1906-1907. Other pupils from the Art School’s senior classes took part in the project, helping to decorate the facades in particular.
This villa is considered a manifesto of the “Style sapin” (fir tree style), inspired by Art Nouveau and the Jura environment and developed by Charles L’Éplattenier and his senior class Art School students.
The Fallet family lived in the house from its completion until 1921. The house has undergone interior and terrace modifications. The exterior, as well as the living room and stairwell, were listed in 1979. The house was acquired by the City of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2022.
