Współczesna architektura

With its curved floor plan, the town hall of Brunico/Bruneck follows the course of the Europastrasse street, which in turn follows the riverbend of the Ahr around Schloss Bruneck castle. The building is intended to refresh the overall image of the city and to set a new urbanistic accent in an otherwise rather shapeless development. The building consists of four parts, which were loosely arranged around the town hall square, but nevertheless form a structural unit. With its 3,000 square metres, the square creates an open space that underlines the importance of the town hall. The square is one of three squares, all paved and without plants. Meusburger Platz is located between the school and the old gym and is equipped with stone columns. The school square also offers sports facilities.

In a building in the old town on the biggest shopping street in Brunico/Bruneck, a glass right angle opens up allowing a view into the wide yet long, tube-like room which stirs you to enter the room. Apart from the floor, laid with square black slabs, the rest of the interior is completely white. Bright light and the back-lit walls made of white frosted glass make the small windowless room seem far larger and lighter than it actually is. The white furnishings including the counter and shelves seem inferior to the colorful things on offer here: in the front section of the shop Andreas Acherer's patisseries are on sale. These products have won awards many times in the Gambero Rosso guide. In the back section, separated for hygienic reasons, are artistic flower arrangements by Barbara Strondl.

In the center of Mals there was a plot of land for a free-standing building. Block-like brick buildings with windows cut into them and often without an overhanging roof are typical for Mals. The architect adopted this structure and designed a building in three parts with different levels. The middle part acts as an opening and is covered in larch wood boards, while the other two buildings attached to this are plastered white and have uniform, regularly spaced windows. This succinct language of form takes into account the details of the entire building. The shape of the building is clearly structured with the central entrance, so that the citizens can easily find their way inside. The community hall on the upper floor has a special entrance. The interior spaces are marked by white walls, light wood and overhead lighting in the corridors.

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 former Realgymnasium high school which lies in the center of the old town was converted and extended for use as a satellite Brunico campus of the Free University of Bolzano focusing on tourism management, sport and events management. The large, angular old building was also carefully renovated. The smaller wing of the building received a new stairwell built from concrete, the inscription of which has become well known in the city. This welcoming inscription tablet, alongside two new sections of building, form a peaceful square that provides a welcome open space in the narrow old town. A new, large underground auditorium, which can also be used as a room for public events, is situated underneath. The structure of the old building is recognizable in the interior design to which modern details have been tastefully added. The teaching rooms are situated on the top floor.

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.

The architects analyzed the surroundings carefully. Many of the structural elements of the local conditions  ̶ the course of the road, the volumes of the surrounding houses all the way up to Schenna Castle, which can be seen from here  ̶  merge again in this building, but with a modern twist. The residential building, sheathed with bright Eternit slabs, floats like a crystal on the blue-gray, stone-clad semi-basement, where the shops are located. A glass-clad gap between the stone-clad basement and the residential building brings light between the two components, into the goldsmith shop. It provides upscale, almost indirect illumination of the white wall partitions and ceilings, while the dark walnut wood paneling conveys solidity.

On the renovated cable car, which is an important means of transportation for the permanently inhabited mountain village at the old pilgrimage church, you can ride from Laces/Latsch (630 m) up the summit station (1,740 m) in just a few minutes. The chapel, which leans on a steep hillside, was not supposed to have any structural competition with an eye-catching cable car. In order not to interfere with the visual presence of the chapel, the summit station was built behind a high stone wall that set it apart from delightful surroundings. In order for it to stay as low as possible, the cable car mechanics are situated outdoors. As a result, you can watch its technical components functioning out of the glass cube into which the red gondola glides. Access to the ticket counter and waiting room is at the rear of the building, where there is also an adjoining café with magnificent views.

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.

Five outstanding architecture sculptures were designed for the adventurous Alpine Road, which leads through the Timmelsjoch Pass to Austria and is closed in winter. Each of the sculptures represents a theme related to this connecting road. The stations are made up of a chapel of sorts on the Austrian side of the pass with a wide promenade jutting out into “nothing,” a square house for the smugglers, the Pass Museum projecting out in a virtually neck-breaking effect, the two gigantic windows of the “telescope” looking over the mountain landscape, which are held by concrete of different shades, and finally the steel construction Granat, an echo of geological formations, which contains a showroom. These sculptures impressively demonstrate how architecture can add value to its surroundings.

This pool complex with its sweeping views connects nicely to the surrounding mountain landscape, creating an added attraction for visitors. At first glance the entrance façade looks closed as the result of the masonry curtain on the upper level, but the prominent glazed entrance area and long horizontal bands of windows on the ground floor also allow for a welcoming peek into the pool from outside. Apart from that, floor-to-ceiling glass facades girdle the structure, opening generously onto the outdoor swimming pool and the views. Through a recess in the roof, a shielded roof terrace for the sauna was created on the first floor, which also affords views into the distance. Light-flooded during the daytime, the wooden ceilings inside also lend the spaces a warm light and nice atmosphere when artificially lit at nighttime.

The sunniest and most sought-after cross-country skiing trail within the Ortler Ski Arena alliance, is located between Schlinig and Schliniger Alm, and offers 15 kilometers of trails and a vertical drop of 150 meters. The village of Schlinig built a service center for it, with a ski-waxing facility, changing rooms, toilets and equipment rentals. This single-story building matches the development of the village in both size and materials used. Covered entirely with vertical wood sheathing, the wagon looks like a cog railway into which you enter sideways. The incline of the roof and shape of the building take up the slope gradient. The entrances to the five functional units open onto a covered vestibule on the valley side, while the opposite side is provided with suitably tiered horizontal windows – as a result, the entire complex is integrated into the hillside in an ideal way.

This unusual house is situated amongst a quite standard new village architecture. It consists of two sections: one constructed from parts of a 300-year-old farmhouse in which the farmer's and architect's family have been living for centuries, and another new building that crouches under the large tree trunks. The idea to live under mounted tree trunks came to the architect when he was a child playing in the woods, and he subsequently made it a reality. The stacked, untreated tree trunks do not hide a dingy living space beneath, but rather glass walls and openings that create an artful play of light when inside. In addition many other materials were used, from rough concrete mixed with glass shards to the extremely shiny stainless steel kitchen. A highly imaginative design here from the architect.

The Fascist Youth GIL Buildings emerged in Merano/Meran, Bressanone/Brixen and Bolzano/Bozen in the 1930s according to designs by the architects Miozzo and Mansutti. Although in need of renovation, only the Bressanone structure has retained its original form. In Bolzano one of the most important buildings of Fascist Italy's rationalism period, a structure that had already been dilapidated, has been successfully repurposed. It was renovated and expanded through a competition. The fact that an Austrian architect achieved this, shows the overlap of cultures in Bolzano. The renovated, heritage-listed old building sections, painted in Tuscany red, were contrasted with a transparent building of glass and steel on a lightweight concrete structure, which also redefined the urban context with a vestibule, garden café and garden courtyard. The design of the interior spaces is just as light as that of the external appearance.

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.

Embedded within the summit of Mount Kronplatz at 2.275m, the Messner Mountain Museum Corones explores the traditions, history and discipline of mountaineering. The majority of the museum’s exterior and interior panels are made from in-situ concrete. The museum is arranged over several levels to reduce its footprint. During construction, 4,000 cubic meters of earth and rock was excavated and then replaced above and around the completed structure – immersing the museum within Mount Kronplatz and helping to maintain a more constant internal temperature. From the topmost level that houses the entry area, stairways lead like waterfalls over three exhibition levels all the way to the bottom. At the lowest floor, visitors pass by glass-enclosed viewing windows and arrive at a terrace that is nearly 40 square meters, from which they are able to enjoy a 240° panorama from the Zillertal Alps to the Ortles-Ortler to the Dolomites.

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 City and University Library in Brunico stands on an awkward construction site between single-family homes and the backs of buildings, and is also separated from the new town hall square – a subordinate position within the urban fabric for a culturally significant building. Between the heavy buildings, however, the architects have managed to insert some architectural freshness: open, transparent, timeless, modern without trendy flourishes, and with variable internal surfaces for variable use. The result is a visually light concrete structure that seems to float on its slender columns above the covered vestibule. The building features floor-to-ceiling glass facades and a shed roof above the uppermost terrace, in front of the meeting rooms. Inside there is only one solid core, while the rest of the floor plan are free surfaces that can be separated with shelves, glass walls and movable dividers. The color scheme is fresh, providing for a lively atmosphere.

From an architectural standpoint, the climbing and bouldering arena in Brunico/Bruneck was designed to fit in with various existing, largely heterogeneous buildings. With a powerful and independent architectural language, the arena stands in contrast to the natural and already existing environment as constructed. The large variation in height and room depth as well as the arrangement of the inner courtyard and the outdoor climbing area result in high-quality outdoor spaces, which nevertheless appear as a coherent, interconnected building formation. The back of the building has no openings, while the facades facing the inner courtyard are glazed to the height of the building, as if opening themselves up to the visitor. The indoor climbing hall is highly recognisable and, despite its rocky structure, blends in well with nature and the landscape. The overall design is minimalist: sparse details and clear lines of concrete and local limestone.

A cable car always means an intrusion into the mountains. For the fragile high-mountain landscape above Selva/Wolkenstein, an architect was commissioned for a suitable design. For the 2.2-km cable car, which has the capacity to transport 3,000 people per hour, three structures were to be designed: the base, intermediate and summit stations. The equipment rooms were to be situated underground to the extent possible, allowing passengers to step into spacious, glazed entrance areas that are covered by protective, undulating concrete shells. The smooth lines of the base station integrates into the terrain with smooth lines. The steel structure of the open intermediate station has a glassy, transparent look, and passengers are greeted at the summit station by the welcoming gesture of a concrete shell above the glazed hall.

Trauttmansdorff was honored as Italy's Most Beautiful Garden in 2005. The complex comprises approximately 12 hectares of gardens, with about 5,800 species of plants and 80 different garden landscapes. The gardens are crossed by paths and waterways, and lined with pavilions. The castle – once the holiday residence of Empress Sissi – has been meticulously restored and complemented by a restaurant and visitor center. In addition to elegant stainless-steel details for bridges, railings and furniture, of particular note are the Aviary and the Viewing Platform. These two modern structures lend the gardens an architectural three-dimensionality. Both represent light yet bold architecture, made of stainless or galvanized steel, and seem to float over the gardens. Visitors access the Viewing Platform across steps that are virtually transparent. The platform towers above the treetops; meanwhile a dizzying bridge high above the gardens protrudes out of the aviary.

Museion and its bridge link the old Austrian and the new Italian neighborhoods of the city, creating a built connection to a new era opposite the divisive Fascist architecture of the victory monument. The stylistic idiom of the mostly closed building, wrapped in its aluminum armor and with its far-reaching right angles, opens onto both parts of the city with its glassed narrow sides, encouraging one to enter. These glass facades are transformed into projection screens in the urban setting when darkness falls. The purely white architecture takes over the clear rooms inside, without dominating: a function to serve diverse exhibitions. The two swaying parts of the bridge over the Talvera/Talfer River form part of the museum’s concept: they symbolize the crossover of the two cultures that coexist here.

It was decided at Lake Caldaro/Kaltern, the warmest lake in the Alps, to create an outdoor swimming pool with an unusual bathing complex instead of a season-lengthening indoor pool. The architect took advantage of the downslope to the lake, leading the swimmer from the entrance between airy pavilions, with wide-spread winged roofs made of steel for shade, past the bistro, to a wooden-planked terrace reminiscent of a ship's deck. Here the swimming pools lie on an underlying free surface with rain room and whirlpool complex, which serves as a shady area in the summer. From here, swimmers in the overlying basin can be seen from below through circles of glass. The entire complex looks like a refined moving concrete sculpture that seems to float above the lawn in front of the lake.

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.

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.

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.

Together with planners, the inhabitants of St. Martin have developed the center of the village within the context of a participative program, in order to strengthen the unity of the community. A good reason to accept a style of architecture which has village elements to it, such as the shape of the roof and house as well as the natural stone and untreated pinewood, yet which incorporates a non-regional specific design which is in keeping with the times. Modern details, touches of color and scale changes in the proportion were very consciously incorporated into the new shapes of the village center, in order to document the new community life with contemporary architecture. The structural mass is mainly underground, skillfully built into the sloping plot of land, and the stage areas, suitable for various uses, open up so broadly onto the village that no one can feel any claustrophobia or fear at entering this building.

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 1250, Bishop Bruno of Brixen founded Bruneck Castle, which served as his summer residence. The town that evolved below the castle walls took on its name. After an eventful history, having been used as a prison and as a school, today the castle houses the fifth Messner Mountain Museum, which focuses on mountain peoples. The historical structure was carefully excavated and restored. The rooms, however, were not sufficient to house the museum and so a section is housed underground, in spaces that were once part of the fortification walls. Modern architectural forms were used for all the additions and new buildings, with concrete, steel, wood and glass having been used as materials. Only the parts that had to be provided as temporary extensions, for example the cashier areas and rooms for temporary exhibitions, were consciously done in wood and may be dismantled at any time.

This beverage company, which has been existence since 1919, is a return to the old town of Brunico/Bruneck. The historical building, which has Gothic elements, is listed. The facades have therefore been carefully renovated yet it has gained a new, distinct character through the addition of glass to the ground floor arches and the illumination at dusk. From the outside one can already sense the atmosphere inside, and the sales counter conveys a slight corner-shop feel to the place; the interior is however divided stylistically. In the front section there are bright shelves, while the section towards the back has a hint of luxury about it, with its antique furniture. The Harpf private drinking cavern, situated in the cellar and independent of the shop, has been superbly designed by the architects Ged Bergmeister and Michaela Wolf.