Dezeen Magazine

The exterior of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture

Peter Pichler draws on agricultural vernacular for Italian Alpine hotel

Peter Pichler Architecture takes visual cues from agricultural architecture and traditional farming equipment to design the Hotel Milla Montis in South Tyrol, Italy.

Located in the small Alpine village of Maranza with views of the Dolomites, the hotel is segmented into four staggered volumes, unified by blackened larch cladding and large curved cut-outs in their facades.

It is designed by Milanese studio Peter Pichler Architecture to recall traditional wooden barns in the region and ensure it is a sensitive addition to its rural setting.

The exterior of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
Above: Hotel Milla Montis is intended to evoke a series of wooden barns. Top image: it is wrapped in black larch cladding

"Hotel Milla Montis is inspired by the vernacular architecture of the region and the classic wooden barn, giving a contemporary reinterpretation of this typology," explained the studio's founder, Peter Pichler.

"Maranza is a small village in South Tyrol with a significant agricultural background," he continued. "At Peter Pichler Architecture, we always try to enhance the local context, traditions, and elements that characterise the place."

A detailed photo of Hotel Milla Montis' facade by Peter Pichler Architecture
Facade cut-outs are designed to evoke local farmers' pitchforks

Hotel Milla Montis contains 30 rooms that range from doubles to large suites with private saunas. Many of them have access to a private balcony, framed through the large curved cut-outs in the facade.

There are also a number of shared facilities including a bar, restaurant, and spa, all of which have been positioned with views of the Dolomites.

A spa inside Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
Each cut-out frames views of the Dolomites

The distinctive cut-outs across its facade are designed by Peter Pichler Architecture to emulate the shapes of pitchforks used by local farmers in Maranza.

Teamed with the black-painted larch cladding, sloped roofs and fragmented layout of the hotel, the cut-outs are also hoped to reduce the visual impact and perceived scale of the building.

A hotel room inside Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
Light ash wood is used throughout the hotel interiors

Hotel Milla Montis's interiors are described by the studio as having "a timeless Alpine style", and like the exterior, uses wood as the predominant material.

Light ash wood furnishings are married with green woollen textiles, chosen to contrast with the hotel's exterior and introduce "a dash of colour" that nods to the surrounding landscape.

The bar inside of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
Ash is teamed with green woollen textiles

There are also a number of stone furnishings, including a large counter in the bar made from Gneiss sourced from Passeier Valley in South Tyrol, and slate tiles in the spa and bathrooms.

According to the studio, almost all Hotel Milla Montis' furniture is custom made, excluding a few classic carved-wood Tyrolean chairs in some of the hotel rooms.

The bar inside Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The bar features a large made from Gneiss rock

Peter Pichler Architecture was founded by Silvana Ordinas and Pichler in Milan in 2015.

Elsewhere in Italy, the studio is currently developing a series of treehouses with sharply pointed roofs and blackened wood cladding for a mountain forest in the Dolomites. It has also designed a collection of gabled treehouses for a forest in Kitzbühel, Austria, as part of a 7-star hotel that is being built in the small Alpine town.

Photography is by Gustav Willeit, Daniel Zangerl and Jörgen Camrath.


Project credits:

Architect: Peter Pichler Architecture
Principals:
Peter Pichler, Silvana Ordinas
Competition design team: Peter Pichler, Cem Ozbasaran, Giovanni Paterlini, Marco Caprani, Alessandro Altamura
Project team: Peter Pichler, Simona Alù, Giovanni Paterlini, Cem Ozbasaran
Interiors: Peter Pichler Architecture
Structural engineering: iPM
MEP: Reichhalter
Construction company: Gasser Paul
Wood construction: Brida
Electro planning: Studio E-Plan
Project management: Michaeler & Partner

More images

A balcony of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
A hotel room in Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
A hotel room in Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The pool of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The spa of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
A bar area inside Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The restaurant of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The restaurant of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The swimming pool of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture
The exterior of Hotel Milla Montis by Peter Pichler Architecture