Below zero architecture

This, the first alpine refuge of the latest generation, provides the optimal combination of comfort, safety and respect for the environment. It was installed in mid October on the Freboudze glacier, in front of the spectacular East face of the Grandes Jorasses of the Mont Blanc Range. It is now ready for use by mountaineers and climbers. The Gervasutti refuge was commissioned by CAI Torino, the Italian Alpine Club. Under the guidance of SUCAI the subsection of CAI Torino and the Ski Mountaineering School, the project was realised thanks to the works team coordinated by the project managers Luca Gentilcore and Stefano Testa. The refuge represents the pinnacle of achievement of LEAPfactory, (the acronym means Living, Ecological, Alpine Po... More

During recent years a number of observation platforms have been created attempting by different means to confront the visitor with the beauties of nature. This panorama platform was commissioned by the management of one of the five glacier ski arenas in Austria. Like most of its competitors the management is intent upon retaining a high level attractiveness of its ski region. One hour's drive from Innsbruck, the Stubai Glacier offers a large variety of mountain climbs and hikes. The aim of the newly erected platform is therefore mainly the revival of seasonal and summer tourism. During the winter season the platform can be accessed the weather conditions permitting. Like the structural engineer we were directly commissioned for the pr... More

ALPINE CAPSULE STATEMENT THE ALPINE CAPSULE DEFINES A NEW ARCHITECTURAL CONDITION, OFF GRID AND HARMONIC WITH NATURE. IT EXPANDS THE POTENTIAL OF MODERN LIFE, ITS COMFORTS ITS TECHNOLOGICAL CONNECT AND ITS VISION, AWAY FROM CITIES AND INTO THE REALM OF LANDSCAPE AND “OPEN SPACE. OPEN SPACE/OPEN MIND” ; THE REALIZATION THAT BEING OUT IN NATURE BUT SUPER CONNECTED TO CULTURAL PORTALS AND THE INFORMATION AGE CAN BRING YOU BOTH HEALTH AND IMAGINATION TO PEOPLE IN A VERY SENSUAL WAY. THE CAPSULE IS IN FACT A SANCTUARY OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY , A PLACE TO THINK AND WONDER IN AWE OF THE CHANGING NATURE OF NATURE...ITS COLOURS ITS TEXTURES....THE EXPERIENCES OF DAY AND NIGHT SEASONS AND THE INFINITY OF THE COSMOS. THE PROJECT IS A PROTOTYPE... More

The project is based on two specific conditions: - on one side the client’s needs, looking for a small and intimate space; - on the other a small, special and precious place. The alpine landscape dominates the place: it becomes evident the condition of a privileged and unique space. The concept of size guides the project. Great is the land, the landscape: small is the place, the space. There is a mutual relationship that inspires the design process. What is the role of the "room" in relation to the landscape? How the landscape reflects, "adopts” the room? The point of view changes in a frenzied search for balance. A micro retreat for weekends, a place for contemplation, a clearing house from a daily hectic urban condition. A small woo... More

At the edge of a wooded ravine, beneath the imposing wooden house of the Catholic Community of Sisters, the small tower building rises from the steep hillside. Striking and modest in appearance, it stretches up out of a small hollow situated on a narrow path along the edge of the forest. The only change made to the hillside is the driveway and the terrain has been left in its original form. Fitting into the landscape as if it were a barn, the building, which is a fine example of the homogeneous use of materials, in this case, carefully hewn rough concrete, stands out against the meadow green and winter white. Its ashy-gray colour only contrasts slightly with the heavy oak front doors and the anthracite-coloured handrails blend in with th... More

Halley VI Antarctic Research Station – the world’s first re-locatable research facility – is now in use, signalling a new dawn for 21st Century polar research. Opening one hundred years after Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s Antarctic expeditions, the new state-of-the-art research facility demonstrates the UK’s ambition to remain at the forefront of scientific endeavour. Halley VI Antarctic Research Station is designed by Hugh Broughton Architects with AECOM and constructed by Galliford Try for the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). The project demonstrates an ability to create ground-breaking architecture characterised by a compelling concept, executed with fastidious attention to detail and exemplary levels of coordination. Pushing the bound... More

The Timmelsjoch is the deepest, non-glaciated indentation in the main Alpine ridge between the Reschen Pass and the Brenner Pass.A road, once a mule track, links the Passeiertal valley and the Ötztal valley. Over thousands of years, unique similarities between the two valleys evolved, triumphing over the natural boundary created by the mountains.Since 2010 architectural sculptures located at several stopping places along the road, enlighten travellers about the natural surroundings, the history, the culture, the communities and the economy of the region.All together there are 5 sculptures to be explored, two on the Austrian side called walkway and smuggler and two on the Italian side of the road named telescope and garnets. On the highest p... More

The boathouse is a cultural and historical hallmark of Norways coastal regions, where fishing used to be the primary profession. They have traditionally been used for storing boats and fishing gear, but today many of them are being converted for recreational summer use. This particular boathouse is located on the outermost reaches of the Moere-coast, and it hails from the middle of the eighteenth century. It was in such a bad state that the owner decided to tear it down and build it anew. The simplicity of the old building, its good placement and honest use of materials would become key sources of inspiration for the design of the new building. Great emphasis was placed on the main construction, the gates of the gable wall and the adapt... More

The project was commissioned through an invited competition. The new structure is an addition to an existing university and research building, which is extended to about 4 times its original size.The project also provides new facilities for the Svalbard Museum. The project is the very largest building in Longyearbyen and Spitzbergen. The insulated copper-clad skin is wrapped around the program demanded, creating an outer shell adjusted to the flows of wind and snow passing through the site. Climatic 3D simulations has been undertaken to assure that the accumulation of snow would not create undesired conditions in front of doors and windows. In the process, the skin has been flexible to adjustments, both geometrical changes answering to the... More

The striking thing about the Swiss Alpine Club's (SAC) New Monte Rosa Hut is its autonomy in the heart of a sensitive landscape, an extreme climatic region far from comfortable civilised supply networks, in "splendid isolation" between seemingly untamed nature and highly urban culture. This applies to the production, the building site logistics, the autarkic infrastructure and the operation of the hut. The New Monte Rosa Hut is a case study project on the interface between the environment and the city. First in isolation does the immense sensitivity of the natural as well as the urban resources on which life depends become apparent. This is not simply a matter of creating a sustainable building or an energy efficient mountain lodge, but... More