Warto zobaczyć Południowy Tyrol

Anyone who approaches Bolzano/Bozen from the south along the A22 will see the Salewa building, to the right of the highway, a modern gateway to the city. Three office towers, with four, seven and twelve floors respectively, are set in a urban dialogue one with the other and with the surrounding mountain landscape. Through the freely formed designs as well as the facades of dark glass and gray aluminum, the building mass retreats and yet, at the same time, matches the colors of the mountain. In the seemingly unusually shaped building volumes made of a reinforced concrete structure with curtained glass and/or metal facades, South Tyrol’s largest climbing gym is housed in addition to the company warehouse and administrative offices. This structure adjoins a small recreational park with a garden area and a restaurant, which matches Salewa’s sporting goods production nicely.

While nursing homes were formerly often pushed “into the green” on the outskirts of the village, it was decided in Valdaora/Olang to attach the elderly to the major facilities within the town center, where the school, kindergarten and other public institutions are to be found. The new nursing home has become an important meeting point. The four-story, wood-paneled structure houses two nursing units with 20 beds and associated spaces. Around the spacious foyer on the ground floor there is a café, a chapel, and a multipurpose room for events. In addition, an outpatient medical clinic and the offices of the district community are housed here. Glazed notches across the entry hall provide for good illumination; a partition of a pleasantly light, inviting architecture further emphasizes this impression through color, light natural stone and wood.

The house and workshop are located on the steep slope just outside the center of the village. The two buildings which run into each other at an angle, open out onto the mountain slope behind, forming an entrance. The workshop and the gallery are situated on the ground floor of the side of the building facing the slope. The concrete construction of this base is partially built into the slope, therefore part of the light for the workshop is provided by openings onto the ground floor which let in indirect light.

Above the basement a wooden construction rises up with interlocking supports, between which the wooden fronting of the facade is inserted; this is where the bedrooms are to be found. In contrast to this the ground floor, home to the living rooms, is predominantly constructed from glass. The shapes formed by the roof seem to evoke the dramatic Dolomite formation of the Schlern Massif, which can be seen in the background.

A sports ground with an outdoor and indoor pool, the Aquarena, was built north of the Bressanone Old Town. It is the result of a competition provided for the extension, which was to include a music school, underground parking and an indoor climbing gym; the latter has now been built. The climbing gym had to be of a certain height: a cube that is highly visible amongst the surrounding buildings thus emerged, which can also be viewed as a landmark. It not only affords good views of the city, but also allows one to see into the hall, and meets ecological considerations. The reinforced concrete structure, which has a steel-and-glass façade, also has a second façade level of corrugated gold-colored perforated plate elements that give the interior soft light without harsh shadows. The hall is accessed along a monumental staircase, which is also planned to serve as the entrance to the music school that will be built next door.

In the center of the village, only a stone's throw from the market place, stands one of the wine village’s oldest houses, which has housed a hotel since 1742. In the back, the plot of land stretches up the mountainside and borders orchards and vineyards. At the highest point a wooden pavilion with large glass fronting stands on the roof of the new underground garage, built to be a wellness temple. The sauna provides an excellent view over Caldaro/Kaltern and into the Überetsch. The transition from the necessarily closed, dark rooms out into the garden is smooth, illuminated as it is by light shafts. An outdoors pool with a terrace is adjoined in such a way that the passages over into the vineyards seems self-evident. The old building is tastefully renovated; the old contrasts the new in the reception area, bar, wine cellar and bedrooms, all of which have an individual character to them.

The rather unattractive post office of the 1950s was converted into a passive house to be used as an administration building. The addition of two more stories improved its size, also in relation to the surrounding area. Next to the elegant station tower, the stairwell of this old building no longer fit in and was covered with solar panel elements during the conversion. The bulky body of the building was brought to life through various window designs, which allow for an interplay of shadow and light. The 3% extra costs spent on energy-saving technology for the building has paid itself within five years: this gold low-energy house only costs 45 euro per worker on heating, as opposed to the 270 euro buildings in category C pay. This is, in fact, the first office block in Italy that meets passive house standards. The interior, with its wide corridors for special uses, is light and friendly, using only the simplest materials.

The horse racecourse in Maia Bassa/Untermais is one of the largest and most beautiful in Europe. It is very centrally located, but also divides the urban body sharply. In 1886, the first horserace took place for Merano’s aristocratic visitors. But the modern-day period began only in 1936, when the Fascist regime had the new racecourse built by the star architect of the day, Vietti Violi. With stepped staircases, flat roofs and clear design features, its plastered buildings are excellent examples of the Italian rationalist style, which was developed out of the classical modernism of the Bauhaus school. At two stories high, 150 meters long and 20 meters high, the main grandstand seats 15,000 spectators. After its renovation, the building received the 2011 South Tyrolean Architecture Award.

Sigmundskron is a symbol found in South Tyrol's early history. It was first mentioned in 945 and was built into a fortress in 1473 by Duke Sigmund. In 1996 the ruins were taken over by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen and in 2003 they were handed over to Reinhold Messner to be transformed into the Messner Mountain Museum. The preservation of the character and protection of the ruins was the main concern during the conversion building works. The steel constructions which were developed for this purpose were positioned at a distance with as few contact points as possible with the outer stone walls and the interior of the towers and rooms, so that these seemingly light architectural elements can be removed at any time. The design of these sections of the building has been kept as simple as possible, and they are clearly set apart from the historical parts of the building. This allows for a distinct demarcation of the old and the new.

This vocational school underneath Mount Virgl in Haslach was created through a competition in 1975. The compact building complex comprises four units: the three-part office and classroom wing, the two wings of the workshops, the auditorium and the gym. The concrete construction with exposed brick infill forms a very sustainable structure for which an expansion program was developed in the 1990s, which led to the addition of another story onto the previously built three-story class and office building. On the ground floor a meeting room for 150 people was built, with foyer and control room. At the same time, the technical infrastructure – heating, sanitary facilities, water treatment system with solar collectors – was renovated and upgraded. The addition of the new story matches the existing building structure, but is clearly recognizable as an extension.

The square of Lasa/Laas, a village known for its marble, is fancily paved with white marble. In the same square stands a bust of Emperor Franz Josef, done likewise in white marble – and somewhat deserted, having been unclaimed due to the First World War. The traditional tavern situated here is a popular meeting point, and has developed into a popular event venue. The original character was unequivocally to be retained during conversion: wooden floors, brightly painted wooden paneling on the walls, circular benches, simple furniture of widely varying origin and a bar made of matte stainless steel all yield a mixture that seems random, yet was calculated in a sophisticated way in order to create a relaxed atmosphere. The centerpiece of the expansion is the vaulted medieval wine-storage area, which is now used as a restaurant and meeting facilities.

A very reserved building structure was created on a narrow building site between the multiform heritage-listed building of the former Grand Hotel Savoy and some simple row houses. The basic cubic shape tapers slightly at both of the lower floors, lending the solid building a floating feeling. Staggered windows in the facades, uniform in size, break up the building’s austerity. A transparent, visually light glass bridge elegantly links the new building with the facade of the old Savoy. The simple form of the new concrete structure, with flat roof, lends both buildings a contrapuntal aesthetic appeal. The cool clarity of the design is also reflected in the interior of the new building, which has a transparent and fluidly designed sequence of rooms.

Baumgarten Manor was a grand estate with several buildings dating from the thirteenth century, which underwent a number of structural modifications. For renovation and remodeling for repurposing, the existing heritage-listed structure was to be preserved and modern features adjoined where needed. A three-story block was added in order to connect the individual tracts. All new components were designed as steel-and-glass structures so that they would stand out clearly from the solid, plastered original building, without being pushed to the forefront intrusively. The inner courtyard was paved, trees were planted and an illuminated guide line to the entrances was embedded into the ground. It continues at the main entrance as a gully. This guide line recurs in the interior corridors, its careful use of color conveying an atmosphere that is almost artistic.

Funes/Villnöß has managed to save itself from modern urban sprawl up until now. The rigorously modern architecture of the nature park visitor's center and elementary school, a design that had been set via an international competition, was initially very controversial. The result, however, has silenced all criticism. The cubic appearance of the two new buildings, with a flat roof above the Villnösser Stream, is well integrated into the village of St. Magdalena − this is true not only in terms of their size but also their color and the materials chosen. From the car park, you cross the stream along a very elegant, lightweight bridge and ascend between works of art to the two buildings, which have been set next to each other in a spatially sensible way. With a lively school and quiet nature park, this is a functionally differentiated place. Velvety wood and meticulous details await the visitor inside − all of the very best quality!

The parsonage was built contemporaneously with the late Gothic church in Prettau and was subsequently operated as a farm, with stable and barn. It was to undergo a conversion into a private house. Special sensitivity was required in the conversion due to the restrictions related to it being a heritage-listed building. The architects managed to clearly identify the historical building’s structure yet simultaneously reflect our contemporary era through the spare use of modern details. This is especially true for the newly timbered barn: it was elegantly redesigned for residential purposes, with an open fireplace, skylights and untreated wood floors, it yet retained its old atmosphere despite this repurposing. In the old building both the stairs and the brick arches in the cellar were conserved, as was the sooty former Selchkuchl (smokehouse), which took on a new function as a work space.

The architects' aim with the primary school building in San Pietro/St. Peter in Funes/Villnöss was to start a new dialogue with the village. The building complex consists of several interconnected building parts of different heights, which are arranged in a kind of semicircle around an inner courtyard. The buildings encase and protect the inner courtyard, which is used by the children as a playground and rest area. The structural details of this project are child-friendly and simple in design: the school borders directly on the surrounding meadows, the walls of the building are plastered white, and the windows and doors on the fronts have different sizes and shapes. The surrounding landscape "infiltrates" into the interior of the school and is reinforced by the alignment and opening of the windows.

A few minutes on foot from Sand in Taufers, near the Ahr, the Rein Valley waterfalls and a naturally formed swimming pool, stands a sports center, which is recognizable by the building's elongated, lightly curved roof. The interlocking of exterior and interior space defines the design. Light shines in from all sides through the glass panelling of the building, providing views of the surrounding area and of the outdoor pool which blends into the landscape. The terraces of the pool are reminiscent of the waterfalls. The interior rooms form a walkway between the areas and provide the required fixed points in the building that simultaneously offer stability next to the seemingly freely swaying roof. Few materials were used in the design: stainless steel basins, rough concrete for the walls, non-slip stone for the flooring, light acoustic ceilings, and the steel and glass facades which are very light in appearance.

Between Caldaro/Kaltern and the lake lies a vineyard landscape with beautiful residences, including Manicor’s Renaissance structure. Because its new wine cellar, with a cubic capacity of 30,000 cubic meters, would have severely intruded upon this landscape, it was built underground. Only the wooden sales pavilion was added to the previously existing ensemble. The cellar appears only through the entrances and the glass “eye” of the tasting room, which affords views across to Leuchtenburg Castle. Rows of vines further cover the underground facility. A carefully formed concrete construction with building elements made of Corten steel was placed between sprayed concrete walls in the tempered ground. In this way a uniform climate for sustainable architecture has been ensured, which focuses on the gentle processing of grapes according to the tenets of biodynamic viticulture.

The architects have succeeded in creating an exemplary alternative in this modern housing development: in addition to fixed adjacent row houses, they formed eight freestanding houses into a village-like group of homes, which have beautiful garden areas and are nicely integrated into the hillside. The individual structures are in fact connected to one another through the lower levels, but appear to be scattered, being lightly twisted along the wide pedestrian development, which is at the same time a play street above the underlying parking garage. The buildings are classical, with various types of houses again and again − plastered masonry with well-designed perforated facades, deep loggias and subtle colors. The housing group was developed jointly by the architects of the owners’ association, and received the 2011 South Tyrolean Architecture Award.

After recent renovations this dormitory offers places to 75 boys and girls, mostly students at the sports high school. The well-equipped building, with all features and a two-story house chapel building, initially met with strong local criticism because of its rigid shape and the building material – concrete, in accordance with the Swiss models of the time. Gradually, however, the insight prevailed that the architect struck upon an essential aspect of the feel of the Vinschgau Valley landscape with this design and that the cube-shaped building, which has a certain ascetic restraint, creates a dialogue with the towers of Malles/Mals. Over the course of nearly half a century, the building has proven itself functional and is also solid from a construction point of view, down to the last detail, even if much of its concrete has lost its original gray silky gloss with aging and has become darker.

The University of Bolzano’s Faculty of Education was built in Bressanone/Brixen. At first glance, the rigid modern architecture may be jarring opposite the Bishop's Palace, but its urban development and architectural qualities evolve upon closer examination. The square building corresponds approximately to the dimensions of the Bishop's Palace, and Bressanone’s Lauben arcade motif recurs on the ground floor, underneath the three glazed upper floors of offices. For its structure, the inner courtyard takes up the alleyways and atriums of the Bressanone Old Town. The materials used for the exterior and interior are consistently reduced to glass and concrete. The cool impression of the interior spaces fits in with the intentionally quiet, almost monastic educational system.

Copper was once mined in the Aurina/Ahrntal Valley, and even today the tunnels can be visited and are used for the medicinal purpose of relieving asthma. The granary next to the church in Steinhaus has long served for the storage of food, with which the miners were partially remunerated. In 2000, it was rebuilt into a museum in order to exhibit the Enzenberg Collection comprising wood models, paintings, mine maps, documents and finds from the mines at Predoi/Prettau. In addition to a pavilion as foyer, which is made of a steel structure with stone slabs and connected with the exhibition rooms through a glass atrium, the renovation operation focused mainly on the central section of the elongated building structure. A wooden staircase, lift access, emergency stairs, and sanitary facilities were also installed here. The encased staircase represents a type of watershed between everyday life and the world of the museum.

The new building was planned on the site of the monastery garden, next to the Capuchin Monastery, as a public facility near Lana's town center. The austere rectangular building, with two plastered massive constructions on the upper floors, appears as if floating on the fully glazed ground floor. The windows articulate the two stories, each floor shifted. The transparent ground floor, on the other hand, signaled a welcoming openness to visitors. The building is freestanding in the beautifully landscaped and well-manicured monastery garden, which is open to the public. Inside, the upper floors are connected by a whitewashed staircase, which gets illumination from above. The walls of the offices are paneled from floor to ceiling with light wood. All the details have been meticulously developed.

This hotel atop Mount San Vigilio, which replaced the traditional old building in 2004, is accessible only via cable car. An elongated two-story building that attains a lean dynamic through its curved facades, was erected on a Y-shaped ground plan. This leanness is further reinforced by the advanced wooden-slat design. The rooms behind the terraces are shaded by a wooden structure and glazed from floor to ceiling; they are also decorated and heated according to the tenets of construction biology. The appearance of the elegant restaurant is like the wooden structure of a barn, but with glass facades instead of wooden sheathing. The internal access corridor to the suites obtains bright zenith light through a band of skylights. It leads to the spa area, the swimming pool, which offers spectacular views over the Adige/Etsch Valley, and a sun terrace where you seem to float above the landscape.

The pre-Romanesque Church of St. Sisinius (ninth century), which has a tower above the choir, is one of the Vinschgau Valley's most important monuments, but is used only for Easter worship. In the immediate vicinity, a sports complex that had been built earlier was extended in line with the historical monument protection and now, as a sports and recreational area, is under communal protection. Through the construction of a horizontally supported sports venue, the conditions on the monument listing could be met. An undulation at the ground level allowed for the changing rooms to be housed on the floor below the restaurant, which is located at the level of the pool. The glass-enclosed restaurant looks very transparent, stands upon slender steel supports, and is covered with a thin shed roof, which lends the construction a floating lightness and at the same time functions as a canopy for the stands at the football field. A very elegant solution.

The Neustift vineyards have distinctive long, dry stone walls. There is a group of three-family houses that rises up out of these stone walls. The wooden construction of the larger building rests on a ground floor made of stone work; the smaller building is an all-wooden structure sitting on terraces built from dry stone walls. An open expanse of garden stretches between them with a naturally formed pond. The slanting exterior walls that rise up, covered in wooden slat, are designed to protect the facade from driving rain. Windows are cut deep into this slanting wall, forming loggias. The interior reveals an unusual, imaginative sequence of rooms with white and partially colorful walls, and many wooden structures. The construction manager covers the heating requirements of both houses with waste wood from his carpentry business.

The history of the Grauer Bär Hotel goes back half a millennium. It has, in fact, been  in the hands of the same family for nine generations now. The reconstruction and renovation of the bar, reception area, lobby, rooms, and restaurant extension were thus carried out by a variety of different architects over the course of many years and with great sensitivity. The spatial and historical qualities of the old building were developed in this way; at the same time, though, a new and contemporary atmosphere was created. The existing historical structure served as the starting point for the architectural changes, which were integrated in such a way that creates the feeling it has always been so. The bar in particular, which was done in light wood, white plaster and hanging lamps, with clean lines, has become one of the village's main meeting places.

The conversion of a formerly rustic residence near the center of the village into a modern cultural center was successful thanks to careful consideration and a soft touch as regards the historical side to the building. Visible from the outside, a new entrance with a foyer in a contemporary joining building was nevertheless added on, which is elegantly inserted next to the large old building with its steel and glass construction. A beautiful, peaceful inner courtyard was created through this merging of the buildings, which can also be used for open-air events. Inside the building modern details have been carefully connected to what was already there; the white color scheme throughout, in combination with the natural colors of the wooden materials, stone and stainless steel creates a calm background for a diverse range of events.

The pharmacy museum housed in the Apotheke Peer is housed in one of the oldest private residences in Bressanone/Brixen. The display windows and the entrances with their dark metal outlines and steel plates were very carefully inserted into the plastered front of the ground floor. A passageway leads to the museum, where elegant display cabinets with dark metal frames are to be found under the gothic arches. The historical structure with its staircases leading to the upper floors was worked upon, and simple modern details were added, which are instantly recognizable. This has also occurred in the partly historically paneled exhibition rooms, in which 400 years of pharmaceutical history is presented in modern, carefully detailed glass display cases.

Situated in the park of the Baroque seminary, Cusanus Academy emerged as a widely acclaimed South Tyrolean pioneer project in postwar architecture. The three-story building closes the courtyard, urbanistically speaking, behind the historical seminary building with the church. It interpreted a theme of Bressanone’s Old Town in a contemporary way: arcades and bays run down the whole length of the eastern facade. The materials, exposed concrete and hard-burnt brick, consistently shape both the outer shell and the interiors with a quality that, even half a century later, shows no structural damage. In the center of the building is a large hall from which all the spaces on the upper floors are accessed via galleries. Because it has good acoustics the hall is often used as a large lecture room. It is vaulted and has a structurally interesting exposed concrete ceiling, the arches of which give the space good illumination.

Directly along the bike route into the Pusteria Valley you’ll find Lanz Bike Station, next to the busy street, right at the entrance to the valley. Due to its extremely convenient location the station has also developed into a popular meeting place for vehicle drivers, who find ample parking here. An elongated structure made of plastered reinforced concrete has been created out of an earlier makeshift wooden vendor stand, which is set into the steep hillside. The owner of the station is so connected to it that he had his own house built as a white cube with terrace on the roof of the ground-floor service area. The residence is decorated in a varied way: floor-to-ceiling glass walls for the sales and guest areas, a sheltered garden courtyard and adjoining rooms that seem to be closed off. Everything is painted in gray-brown earth tones in order to emphasize the integration into the area.