Excelsior Dolomites Lodge

UPC Architects Folie Bortondello Santa

Project description

Located just outside the village of St. Vigil in the Gadertal the “Excelsior Dolomites Life Resort” was recently extended to include the new “Excelsior Dolomites Lodge”. A modern structure standing in perfect harmony with its surroundings. In contrast to the classic facade that clearly separates in- and outdoors, the “Excelsior Dolomites Lodge” transitions into three layers, with the terrace at the center. By doing so they fluently merge into each other. The real demarcation between inside and outside is made by the innermost layer, its external cladding is mostly made of glass and thus seems to extend the interior room. The middle layer is terraced, a transcending space that adapts its use depending on the outer conditions with the change of seasons. During winter it creates another isolating layer against the cold wind and during summer it’s an extension of the internal space. It even adds to the privacy feeling when the guest is inside their room, because it conceals some parts that without it would be visible. But the most impressive part of the facade is the outermost layer: “A facade consisting of trees and mountains.” – UPC Architects This was the core idea we had for the design of that layer as a suspended façade. To represent the nearby forest, it is covered with irregular ordered vertical wooden slats of various lengths. The surrounding mountain range is incorporated as a black rim of black pressed wood that runs over the whole facade in serrated lines. It’s all a representation of the “Excelsior Dolomites Lodge”s surroundings but in an abstract way, this creates a metaphorical connection between building and landscape, and makes it feel less of a bulky, out of place accommodation and more of discreet artistical masterpiece that fits in perfectly.