Building in the mountains is a story of daring and borderline experiences. It leads back to the origins of architecture. To provide people with protection and refuge from nature. The four-part Arte documentary series “Building in the mountains – new alpine architecture in Switzerland” begins with these sentences.
Peter Zumthor's thermal baths in Vals
Caminada's wooden hut as a civic meeting place
Concrete vacation cabin by Selina Walder
Building in the mountains has always been a particular challenge. An unpredictable climate, rough terrain and often difficult economic conditions have shaped a very special style in the Alps. The demand to translate special building traditions into a modern design language has produced pioneering, innovative examples. The “New Alpine Architecture” series is the first to offer an overview of the most important innovations in the regions of Graubünden, Ticino, Vorarlberg, Tyrol, South Tyrol, Upper Bavaria and the Allgäu.
The first episode deals exclusively with Alpine architecture in Switzerland. It features Zumthor’s thermal baths in Vals, now considered a classic of modern Alpine architecture, Caminada’s wooden hut as a meeting place for citizens and the concrete vacation hut, Selina Walder’s first work. This will be available in the Arte media library from December 4 – 11. “New Alpine Architecture in South Tyrol” will follow on December 11 and will be broadcast at 11:20. Alpine architecture in Bavaria and Austria can then be seen on Arte on December 18 and 25.
“A good architect looks at what he himself would like. In this case, in this place, for this purpose, for this use and then builds it that way. Context is crucial for my architecture.” – Peter Zumthor
“For me, building means getting close to things, in other words being very close to the problems of life. (…) What material resources do I have? What can people do particularly well in a place?” – Gion Caminada
“What I like about the Alps is the directness of the buildings. And in order to preserve this memory, a petrification seemed appropriate.” – Selina Walder
Click here for the first part of the documentary series