Striking buildings with recognition value are to be built at strategically important locations in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the concept of the nature park administration. This is what Pedevilla Architects and willeit architektur have brilliantly implemented in their Kreuzbergpass service building. A pointed saddle roof with long, projecting canopies at the eaves, closed front sides, the long sides with sliding doors made of larch wood, […]
Striking buildings with recognition value are to be built at strategically important locations in the Dolomites UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the concept of the nature park administration. This is how Pedevilla Architects and willeit architektur have made it sparkle in their Kreuzbergpass service building.
A pointed saddle roof with long, projecting canopies at the eaves, closed front sides, the long sides with the sliding doors made of larch wood, otherwise everything is made of concrete – simple and concise – that is the new Kreuzbergpass service building by Pedevilla Architects and willeit architektur. It has been standing on the Kreuzberg Pass near Sesto, South Tyrol, at 1,636 meters above sea level since the end of 2020.
The purpose of the building is to create a reference point for hiking tours and other leisure activities, to provide protection from the wind and weather and to house service functions, such as providing information about the hiking trail network, the mountain huts, nature and the UNESCO World Heritage Site. With their design, the architects refer directly to the surrounding landscape, the mountain peaks, pinnacles and the “Sesto mountain sundial”.
The highlight of the architecture in a double sense is another detail: triangular, amber-colored glass elements sparkle on the street side in the gable of the building and allow light to fall into the interior, giving it an almost sacred feel. The glass elements, designed like uncut rock crystals, can also be found in other parts of the Kreuzbergpass service building: the solid glass elements adorn each wooden strip on the long side in three rows. The knobs of the four sliding doors each consist of a glass element in a significantly larger format.
The interior continues the color and material language of the exterior: hand-chopped larch wood and white exposed concrete with local dolomite stone as a flour grain. Two passages lead through the building, each of which can be closed on both long sides by a sliding door. While one passage leads to the exhibition area and the tourist information desk, the second, smaller passage provides access to the sanitary facilities and ancillary rooms.
All photos: Gustav Willeit
Not enough of pitched roofs in mountain landscapes? Take a look at the Wolf ski hut by Bernardo Bader Architekten.
