Residential complex / Schlanders

The act of settlement, in an area such as the Alpine region, can briefly be traced back to a pair of relationships:

– Relationship with the ground (orography – proximity);
– Relationship with the landscape (vision – distance);

Ground
The horizontal plane is the starting condition for determining a habitable space.
This primary need comes into crisis when man attempts to settle on sloping ground, taking on the tones of “drama” when the slopes reach the levels we know here in the Alps or, for example, in the Apennines.
The outcome of this clash, between man’s need to define a habitable space and the reality of the natural terrain, has resulted in that magnificent repertoire of solutions – podiums, platforms, substructures, terracing – that constitutes the defining element of much of the history of architecture. Here in Schlanders, too, the end of the Sonnenberg mountain slope is shaped by the sinuous sequence of dry stone walls.
The project intends to adapt to this context through the creation of a sequence of low terraces, supported by retaining walls clad in split stone, on which the new buildings will rest.

Landscape
The landscape here becomes the pervasive element of everyday life, a sublime and powerful presence, to be enjoyed but also, in some respects, to be protected from.
Defining the perimeter of domestic life also means, in a certain sense, “defending oneself” from the landscape, creating a dialectical relationship with it. To this end, a mediating element is provided between the interior spaces of the dwelling and the vastness of the scenery of the valley below and the Nördersberg. A system of deep south-facing loggias, consisting of a timber-framed structure, allows the domestic space to be extended outwards and offers effective sun protection to the rooms.