Wolf Ski Hut Petersboda 2016
Lech | Austria

Task: Ski lodge for 50 guests
Location: 6764 Lech | Vorarlberg
Position: 2000m above sea level
Tender: competition 1. prize – in process

Architecture: Bernardo Bader Architects | Dornbirn
Team: Joachim Ambrosig (PL), Thomas Wretschko | Dornbirn
Site manager / Tendering: Gerold Hämmerle | Dornbirn
Structural engineer: Merz Kley Partner | Dornbirn
Photography: Bernardo Bader Architekten | Dornbirn

Plot area: 1200m²
Floor space: Ground floor 200m²  |  basement 300m2
Energy: Pellet heating system, utilization of waste heat, huge stove in the main room
Structure: Prefabricated wood elements on a massive basement

The Wolf ski hut is situated between two top stations of ski lifts at around 2000m above sea level at Petersboden in Lech am Arlberg. Up to two meters of snow can fall here and frosty winds may blow. However, as soon as the alpine sun shines, a unique alpine 360-degree panoramic view full of crystalline glistening, gleaming white mountaintops fascinates. Entering the building site in summer, it becomes clear how much the building is shaped by the surrounding landscape of the high Alps. The traditional hay barns and alpine huts for agricultural purposes nestle as small and compact buildings against the slopes and the landscape. They provide shelter for animals and storage facilities for the farmers’ hay. The “Walserhaus”, as a traditional, local type of building, is distinguished above all by its characteristic organisation of the transition from exterior to interior space. Before entering the house, the visitor enters a portico-like anteroom that protects against the weather and surrounds the actual building. The compact volume within the overall body presents itself as a massive construction and holds the optimised, heated space.

The new hut for skiers is also designed in this tradition. 22 metres long, 16 metres wide and 7 metres high, a continuous timber structure stands on a solid base. The entire outer skin of the wall and roof is made of sawed spruce slats. With a ridge the new house forms a striking gable end and allows the present body to look out into the landscape with friendly equanimity. The advanced ridged roof creates a wide terrace towards the entrance and the valley. This space of transition from outside to inside creates a weather- and wind-protected arrival and accommodates a large part of the outdoor seating. After the entrance hallway, an extra-high room surprises: the bar. This room chamber has an important distribution function, connecting the kitchen with the seating area and marking the actual centre of the house as a highly frequented place.  From here you can reach the two cosy parlours. Between the bar and the parlours, an open fireplace built into the solid concrete core radiates cosy warmth. The room is characterised by the wood of the completely untreated, rough-cut red fir. Tables and chairs are made of ash wood. The interior of the hut also radiates a similar serenity as the exterior and is more related to the graphite-coloured rock hatchings of the surroundings than to the colourful ski suits and the resounding steps of rumbling ski boots. Not rustic, but focused on craftsmanship and without quotations of alpine clichés, here contemporary details are to be confidently united into a design standpoint.