HIGH ALTITUDE ECO-VILLAGE

Five single-family homes gathered arounda courtyard to revitalize the local tradition

with a harmonious, sustainable workof wooden architecture. By the AltoAdige-based studio bergmeisterwolf

THE RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX IS ON THE SLOPES OF THE PLOSE, NEAR BRESSANONE (BOLZANO), IN AN AREA OF SKI TRAILS. THE BUILDINGS EXIST IN A SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LANDSCAPE THANKS TO LARGE BALCONIES (BELOW). THE FACADES ARE CLAD IN LARCH LOGS CUT INTO QUARTERS TO CREATE A DYNAMIC TEXTURE (BOTTOM). THE LOAD-BEARING STRUCTURE IS MADE WITH PREFABRICATED PARTS IN SPRUCE, WITH AN EFFICIENT CORE COVERED BY VERTICAL INTERLOCKING WOODEN BEAMS (LIGNOALP).

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Gerd Bergmeister and Michaela Wolf – born respectively in 1969 and 1979, both from Alto Adige but with studies and professional experiences abroad – are two outstanding personalities in the field of Alpine architecture. They build houses that become part of the landscape, completing it and shaping it. A couple in life and work, Gerd and Michaela founded the bergmeisterwolf studio in 2009 at Bressanone, in the province of Bolzano: the name is always written in lower case, to express the sense of essential rigor found in all their works. The basic idea of bergmeisterwolf is to work ‘with’

and not simply ‘in’ the landscape. The residential theme, in fact, is approached through continuous and coherent pursuit of a dialogue between nature and architecture, an exchange that is renewed case by case, with always different, original typological solutions. As on the slopes of the Plose, near Bressanone, where the studio has created the project of a rural mini-village: five residential units, perfectly inserted amidst the pines thanks to a base of rugged stone, and facades entirely clad in quartered wood logs. Following the shape of the terrain, the buildings form a sort of puzzle around a courtyard – a secluded space immersed in nature – seeking always different views of the beautiful panorama amidst the trees. The level shifts of the land generate the dynamic movement of the roofs, which fit perfectly into the context thanks to their green surfaces. Inside, the perception of the spaces is precisely shaped by light, thanks to large glass surfaces and furnishings skillfully inserted in the larch walls. All these design choices, in the stylistic language of the studio, aim to produce works of architecture completely dedicated to perception of the landscape. ■ Laura Ragazzola

1. THE STUBE, A TYPICAL PARLOR OF THE ALTO ADIGE TRADITION, REINTERPRETED IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY WITH GEOMETRIC VOLUMES COVERED IN LODEN FABRIC..2. IN THE DOUBLE ROOM, THE BED IS BUILT INTO THE VOLUME OF THE SPACE: THE DECOR CHOICES ALSO EXTEND TO THE LIVING AREA..3. THE STAIRCASE IN LARCH WOOD STANDS OUT FOR ITS CLEAN, MINIMAL DESIGN.4. THE SAUNA IS SHARED BY THE WHOLE COMPLEX AND ALSO PROVIDES A VIEWOF THE LANDSCAPE. PRIVACY IS GUARANTEEDBY A BRISE-SOLEIL PANEL THAT PROTECTSTHE GLAZED SURFACE. (PH. GUSTAV WILLEIT)

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