italian duo scatters architectural interventions in arte sella landscape

italian architects houssam wehbe and manon lhomme propose a series of architectural interventions scattered throughout arte sella. the italian site, filled with beautiful mountains and dramatic landscapes, has attracted artists and architects for a long time, so when arte sella was hit by a storm last october, young architects competitions launched ‘calamity atelier’ a competition to bring designers back to the area. 

the museum planted in the ground

for their proposal ‘across the bark’, the designers wanted to find the balance between designing architectural interventions and making a positive impact for the visitors of arte sella. their idea was to create multiple interventions, each having its own identity, yet also working cohesively by blending with their surroundings. their proposed pieces aim to become a part of the landscape as non-invasive architecture. 

internal view of the underground museum

the interventions are meant to act as a system that integrates the visitors with nature they came to visit: be it above or below ground. the buildings will be located throughout two zones and connected by promenades that go though lush forest areas and beautiful landscapes. one of the proposed buildings is the artist’s house atelier. the designers got inspiration from artists who work closely with nature and created a cabin that is split in different parts. each part of the cabin hosts a different function, and this separation of the areas allows the user to interact with nature while being at home. the ateliers will have a different spacing between them and are built at various levels to match each artist’s request.

the spacing between the cabins brings nature into the daily house activities

another building the architect duo designed will be the museum of disappeared works. the idea was to ‘bury’ the damaged works by placing them in an underground museum that takes visitors on a journey to honor the artwork. the museum will be built underground and enables visitors to experience the structure by going on its roof at ground level, or descending to watch the ‘disappeared works’. in a different part of the site the architects designed the auditorium and workshop compound. the building’s angular forms were inspired by the surrounding mountains. the exterior of the building informs the spaces inside, such as the auditorium’s interior staircase that is replicated on the roof of the building for users to enjoy events with panoramic views.

the auditorium and the restaurant extension behind it

the designers also intervened on existing structures such as a restaurant located in the middle of the site. they decided to expand the restaurant by creating a bold, linear extension from the existing restaurant straight to the neighboring forest. the visitors can enjoy sitting on top of the bridge and even taking a long walk through nature. the chosen material palette for the interventions include light wood, burnt wood and white finishes allowing them to blend into their environments and highlight the surrounding nature. houssam wehbe and manon lhomme’s proposal of minimally-invasive structures add engaging possibilities to the area of arte sella. 

malga costa area

sections

project info:

competition: calamity atelier – 2019
title: across the bark
location: borgo valsugana, italy
architects: houssam wehbe – manon lhomme (based in italy)

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: cristina gomez | designboom