Project
Alpine Retreat
Vorarlberg, Austria
Hospitality
Overview
A twelve-room retreat above the treeline, built low and long so the mountain stays unbroken.
Above eighteen hundred metres, the weather decides the architecture. The retreat is a single long bar, set into the slope so that only one storey is visible from the approach. Twelve rooms face south through a continuous glazed wall; behind them, a rammed earth spine absorbs heat through the day and releases it at night.
Overview
A twelve-room retreat above the treeline, built low and long so the mountain stays unbroken.
Above eighteen hundred metres, the weather decides the architecture. The retreat is a single long bar, set into the slope so that only one storey is visible from the approach. Twelve rooms face south through a continuous glazed wall; behind them, a rammed earth spine absorbs heat through the day and releases it at night.
Facts
Location
Location
Vorarlberg, Austria
Year
Year
2025
Type
Type
Hospitality
Area
Area
280 m2
Materials
Materials
Larch, rammed earth, glass
Facts
Location
Vorarlberg, Austria
Year
2025
Type
Hospitality
Area
280 m2
Materials
Larch, rammed earth, glass
Architecture concept
Structure, surface and light, decided once.
The building is deliberately low. Nothing rises above the ridge line of the hill it sits on, so from the valley the mountain reads as unbroken. Inside, the palette is larch and rammed earth, both sourced within forty kilometres, and light is the only ornament.
Architecture concept
Structure, surface and light, decided once.
The building is deliberately low. Nothing rises above the ridge line of the hill it sits on, so from the valley the mountain reads as unbroken. Inside, the palette is larch and rammed earth, both sourced within forty kilometres, and light is the only ornament.
Gallery
Gallery
Plan
Ground floor
A single room deep for most of its length. The stair sits at the centre of the plan, lit from above, with circulation wrapping it. Every room holds daylight from two directions.
Plan
Ground floor
A single room deep for most of its length. The stair sits at the centre of the plan, lit from above, with circulation wrapping it. Every room holds daylight from two directions.
Related projects
Related projects
MONOLITH
An architecture practice working between Merano and Copenhagen. Founded in 2011.
Practice
Via Cavour 14
39012 Merano (BZ)
Italy