Stories of the slopes
"Stone ruins have been rebuilt by hand to create the ultimate
ski base for a young family."
"There’s something that feels utterly romantic about this dwelling – so much so that its imperfect brick facades look as though they were ripped from the pages of our favourite fairytales. And though the retreat’s storybook cham is only heightened by the jaw-dropping mountainscape in which it sits, its beginnings are in fact a little more humble.
Buried within one of the few Italian valleys yet to be hit by the wave of mass tourism that washes over the Alps, the skeleton of an old agricultural store presented a young family with a base for the ski season. Boasting close proximity to the slopes and undisturbed panoramas meant its positioning couldn’t have been more perfect."
"However, the plot was by no means without its challenges – from the existing structure being too small, to the dry stone walls not complying with regulations. Quick to find ways around this, ATOMAA created a plan that began with the painstaking dismantling and rebuilding of the historical brick formations to recreate the original silhouette before reconfiguring the floorplan.
Dressed in a warm birch ply to contrast its rugged shell, the pared-black interior also benefits from an orchestration of windows that – although may be atypical of traditional alpine structures – allow light to infiltrate deep into the plan. Finding balance between paying homage to the local vernacular and meeting the demands of a modern day client seems almost impossible, but ATOMAA’s unwavering patience and sensitive eye was just the right combination for the job."
Text: enki Magazine
Project: link