FINALIST T YOUNG CLAUDIO DE ALBERTIS AWARD
Peter Pichler
Oberholz mountain hut
OBEREGGEN, BOLZANO, ITALY 2015
Year: 2015 winning competition, april 2016 beginning of construction, december 2016 finish construction
Client: Obereggen AG / Spa
Engineer: Dr. Ing. Andreas Erlacher
Credits: Peter Pichler, Pavol Mikolajcak, Gianluigi D’Aloisio, Simona Alu, Giovanni Paterlini, Matteo Savoia, Silvana Ordinas, Krzysztof Zinger, Jens Kellner
Photographs: Oskar Dariz, Jens Rüßmann
Peter Pichler Architecture, in collaboration with Arch. Pavol Mikolajcak, won a competition to design a new mountain hut at 2.000m in the Italian Dolomites in 2015.
The new hut includes a restaurant and is located next to the cable station Oberholz in Obereggen with direct connection to the ski slope.
The cantilevering structure grows out of the hill like a fallen tree with three main branches, creating a symbiosis with the landscape. Each of them is facing towards the three most important surrounding mountains.
At the end of the branches a large glass facade frames the surrounding mountains from the interior of the hut. The sloped roof shape of the glasses draws inspiration from the typical huts of the area, while the branching roof and complex structural interior expresses a new and contemporary interpretation of the classic mountain hut.
The interior is defined by a complex, curvilinear and visible wood structure that gradually fades into walls and creates so called “pockets” for intimacy. It could also be seen as a new open space interpretation of the classic “Stube”, well known in typical structures of the area.
The entire hut is made out of wood: structural elements and interior in spruce, the facade in larch, furniture in oak– all typical woods from the area. A homogenous sculpture with local materials.
The ground floor of the hut consists of the main restaurant / lounge area. The bar is located next to the entrance and is directly connected to the restaurant. Kitchen and food storage / delivery space are also on the ground floor. Main restrooms, staff room and technical facilities are located on the –1 floor. The outdoor space is defined by a big terrace oriented towards the southwest.