Existing context and heritage

The project concerns a traditional Alpine farmhouse overlooking Vipiteno from Ratschings. Defined by solid stone walls, a double-pitched timber roof, and a tripartite plan, the building reflects a long-established rural typology shaped by climate, resources, and seasonal living. A former hay barn, integrated into the main volume, offered untapped spatial potential. The challenge was to preserve the equilibrium between built form and landscape while allowing the house to host contemporary life.

Living requirements and spatial strategy

The brief called for a home rooted in tradition yet open to new ways of inhabiting space. The building is divided into two residential units: a holiday apartment on the lower level and the main dwelling spread across the ground floor and attic. By placing the living areas in the upper level, the project reverses the conventional layout, using the height and light of the attic to create generous, panoramic spaces that alternate between intimacy and openness.

Architectural transformation

The intervention retains the load-bearing structure while reorganising the interior according to a new distribution. Bedrooms occupy the ground floor as protected, inward-looking rooms, while the attic becomes a fluid living space connected to the surroundings through opposing loggias and fully glazed gables. The former barn now acts as a new threshold, accommodating covered parking and a clear entrance sequence, with a light wooden staircase leading upward. A reading bay window offers a quiet retreat suspended above the valley.

Materiality and expression

Local materials and construction techniques guide the project. Existing masonry is consolidated and finished with light-toned plaster, while the attic extension and balconies are built in larch, allowing the facade to age naturally over time. Vertical timber slats and metal cable balustrades create a rhythm of solids and voids, filtering views and ensuring privacy. The result is a careful dialogue between memory, transformation, and the Alpine landscape.

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