Edelrauthütte Mountain Lodge

Rifugio Ponte di Ghiaccio

The mountain lodge is situated at 2.545m above sea level on the crest between the two passes of Ponte di Ghiaccio and the Fundres and Lappago valleys, close to the border of Austria. The original mountain lodge was built in 1906 by the DÖAV’s (Deutsche Österreichische Alpenverein) Edelraute division of Vienna and after WWI changed hands to became property of the Italian State whereby the Bressanone division of CAI (Alpine Club of Italy) became the property managers. In the 1950s the original mountain lodge was added on to and renovated and in 2012, after an evaluation of the building’s conditions and functioning, it was decided to demolish the existing structure and rebuild the Edelrauthütte Mountain Lodge. In 2012, Sandy Attia and Matteo Scagnol of MoDusArchitects won the two phase competition for the new mountain refuge.

The new Edelrauthütte Mountain Lodge interweaves the programmatic elements of the refuge with the symbolic and ecological aspects into one, unifying project.

The “L” shaped volume of the lodge defines the south-facing outdoor area that inscribes the footprint of the now demolished, original “Ponte di Ghiaccio” lodge. This design strategy allowed for the planning of a multi-step construction phase whereby the existing refuge could remain standing while construction began. The construction crew slept in the old lodge during construction which greatly facilitated the logistics in the building of the new refuge.

More importantly, by using the footprint of the original Edelrauthütte as the outline of the new outdoor space, the absence of the former lodge is registered and made evident in its very construction despite its absence. It is this testimony to the former lodge, and giving place to the memory and cultural significance of the old refuge that resonates with the local visitor’s.

The lodge is conceived as a reference point, a visual bridge between the “Pfeifholdertal “ valley with the Nevesstausee Lake and the “Pfundrestal “ valley with its respective lake “Eisbruggsee .” The dining room sits exactly at this point between valley whereby those visiting can sit and enjoy the view at this exact intersection between the two opposing, north-south valleys.