plasma studio cloaks a faceted timber skin over its tyrolean 'paramount alma' house

plasma studio realizes its architectural intervention ‘paramount alma,’ a faceted space cloaking a pre-existing structure among the mountains of northern italy. the tyrolean guest house in sexten, italy was originally occupied by six 1960s-era holiday apartments adorned with a pitched roof and traditional timber ornamentation. the project was driven by the heritage building’s need for a common circulation and service core. with the intervention, the underutilized pitched roof space gives way to an angular crown connected to a ground floor reception space and architectural office along the renovated spine.

images by hertha hurnaus 

reflecting the design language of its nearby ‘königswarte house,’ plasma studio introduces a faceted timber skin with its ‘paramount alma.’ a timber strip section of larch wood is extruded along two paths, with the first projecting across the site, lifting the landscape on either end of the building and rising to enclose a third story balcony. here, the edge skirts around the existing footprint, leaving the corners exposed to express its presence.

the second timber path defining plasma studio’s ‘paramount alma’ lifts the timber skin up from behind, and folds around the existing chimney to return to the ground. interstitial spaces between the exterior walls and wooden bands swell at ground level to offer sheltered outdoor living spaces. the design team employs parametric modelling software to optimize the density of these timber strips and their metal substrustructure, balancing budget, aesthetics, privacy and views. this approach allows for flexibility throughout the design phase and output shop drawings for prefabricated elements at an efficient pace.

project info:

project title: paramount alma

architecture: plasma studio

location: sexten, italy

photography: hertha hurnaus