Days of Architecture South Tyrol 2021

Places that create identity – that is the theme of this year’s South Tyrolean Architecture Days. The Architecture Foundation South Tyrol’s tours, which have already become a tradition, will be offered on three weekends for the first time in 2021 to enable even more people to take part.

The architecture in South Tyrol preserves its valuable cultural heritage and at the same time is open to contemporary interpretations. It is characterized by different typologies and architectural styles that have developed over the centuries as a result of historical and cultural influences. It is built with nature. The context of the buildings is always incorporated into the planning process. The architectural diversity of the region can currently be easily discovered with the guided tours on the South Tyrolean Days of Architecture (until October 3). “These offer the opportunity to sharpen our view of the architecture, look at the details and consider what influence our interventions have on the overall view and what responsibility each of us has when we lend a hand to this overall work that belongs to everyone,” explains Carlo Calderan from the South Tyrol Architecture Foundation.

Outstanding examples of architecture throughout South Tyrol are on the agenda of the Architecture Days: from Sterzing to Überetsch and from Gsieser Tal to Burgeis. Participants will get to know architects, builders and craftsmen as well as modern residential buildings, renovated courtyards, public and private spaces in villages and towns. There is always a special focus on the history of the buildings. Bolzano architect Carlo Calderan explains that preservation and change are not always contradictory: “Our country does not appear to us as a sum of individual buildings, but as a complete work, almost like a large sculpture. However, this sculpture was not created by a single artist, it is a collective work that was not created for eternity. When you look at it up close, you discover that changes are constantly being made: These can damage or change existing parts – or even refine them.”

But what makes a place a place that creates identity? A place where the interplay of people, building culture, landscape and economy becomes an aesthetic whole. How is a lively place created and what conditions does it need to be a place that creates identity? How can the local architectural identity be preserved? And what conditions should be created to raise public awareness? This was the topic of the hybrid conference “Identity-creating places” organized by the South Tyrolean Architecture Foundation and the South Tyrolean Heritage Association at the Waltherhaus in Bolzano right at the beginning of the South Tyrolean Days of Architecture last weekend.

Architect Sigrid Piccolruaz (La Villa in Badia) spoke about her research on the Viles, rural settlements scattered on the slopes of the Badia Valley between 1,200 and 1,700 meters above sea level, which differ significantly from the South Tyrolean farmsteads in their concentrated form and basic structure. Architect Susanne Waiz (Bolzano) spoke about identity-forming places and vacancy management in the Venosta Valley. Art historian Bettina Schlorhaufer (Innsbruck) spoke about the development of hotel construction in the 19th century. Karin Dalla Torre, Provincial Conservator (Bolzano) reported on the protection of cultural assets, identity and the “South Tyrol Building Inventory” project.

The fact that the needs of the people, the use of local materials and gentle integration into the surroundings are at the heart of South Tyrolean planning is exemplified by the renovation of the Reichhalter inn, which dates back to 1477 in the center of Lana, a tranquil wine village between Bolzano and Merano in the Adige Valley. Zeno Bampi carefully renovated the former inn, which had been vacant for ten years, in 2017 – with a keen sense of space, light and materials. The architect (Neumarkt near Bolzano) raised the roof and developed a detailed furnishing and design concept together with interior designer Christina von Berg.

The past of the traditional house was to be preserved: Old wooden floors and exposed layers of plaster and wallpaper now tell the story of the 500-year-old house, which was once a mill, bakery, butcher’s shop, sawmill, barn, stable, tavern and coffee house. Last Saturday, a visit to the building was the first item on the program of the Days of Architecture South Tyrol. Today, the popular inn and boutique hotel is once again the heart of the village square.

All photos: BAUMEISTER

What the South Tyrolean Architecture Days 2021 have to offer for the coming weekend of September 25/26:

A stroll through Klobenstein

September 25, 9:30 to 13:00
Walk through the main town of the municipality of Ritten. Insights into different eras, places and stories.
Tour with Messner Architects, Dr. Erika Prast Messner
10.00 Walk to Lengmoos via the Patersteig and back to Klobenstein along the Fennpromenade
11.00 House Casa Liebegg, 16th century
12.00 Visit to the center of Klobenstein
12.30 Café Restaurant Zentral, MessnerArchitects

Sterzing: Sacred and profane

September 25, 14:30 to 18:00
The structural intervention in sacred buildings, the further construction on proven and to be preserved existing structures will be a challenge for resource-saving construction in the future
Tour with Arch. Siegfried Delueg / Arch. Igor Comploi
14.30 Sterzing parish church, Delueg Architects
Baderhaus KPP Architects
Hotel Steindl and bus stop Arch. Stefan Taschler, archilab Bruneck
16.45 Italian school center, Alexander Langer Delueg Architects, artist Markus Gasser, Sterzing

Valle di Casies – landscape, craftsmanship, architecture

September 26, 10:00 to 13:00 & 14:00 to 18:00
Tour with Arch. Ulla Hell and Arch. Stefan Taschler
The tour leads through the wide landscape of the Gsieser Valley, past traditional hamlets and farms.
Stage a
10.00 Village square St. Martin in Gsies, Arch. Stefan Hitthaler
10.40 Nursery & elementary school, EM2 Architects, Kurt Egger, Gerhard Mahlknecht, Heinrich Mutschlechner,
12.15 Blaslahof, Arch. Martin Gruber
Stage b
14.00 Preindlerhof, Arch. Stefan Taschler
15.00 House L by Roland Graf and Andrea Holzer, Arch. Ulla Hell
16.00 Stacherhof, Arch. Stefan Taschler
17.00 Reinhold Stoll carpentry workshop, wood art studio

The South Tyrolean Days of Architecture will take place until 03.10.2021. Find out more about the guided tours on foot, by bike, car and bus here.

About the South Tyrol Architecture Foundation
The aim of the Architecture Foundation South Tyrol is to raise awareness of building culture and create an open platform for discussion. Fear of contact should be reduced and architecture explained.

Val Badia in the heart of the Dolomites also has some very special architecture to offer. It is characterized by numerous hamlets – small groups of farms that form a compact settlement. Each farm is made up of two buildings, the residential building and the farm building. These hamlets, called “Viles”, were the inspiration for a residential building designed by Pedevilla Architects in South Tyrol. Read more about it here.