Milan-based studio, Peter Pichler architecture, has unveiled images of their latest project designed for a tree-covered site close to the Austrian town of kitzbühel.
Kitzbühel is a ritzy ski resort with a medieval town center located between Salzburg and Innsbruck in the Austrian Alps. It is best known for the annual Hahnenkamm downhill ski race, which takes place in late January and is regarded as one of the toughest downhill races in the world.
Aptly titled ‘tree suites‘, the proposal is envisioned to form part of a new 7-star hotel development. The timber structures, which rise amid the forest, intend to connect guests with nature and provide a unique experience, similarly to the studio’s previous sustainable treehouse projects conceived for sites in italy and the US.
Elevated off the forest floor, guests access their suites via a glass elevator that arrives directly up to the room. Varying between 60m2 to 80m2, the luxury suites include a generous bedroom and bathroom. The bedroom boasts an unobstructed glazed façade that opens up to a balcony space, offering views out over the surrounding treetops and mountains and allowing guests to feel secluded in their very own slice of alpine nature. The larger units also comprise a private living room and a sauna in the bathroom.
When approaching the project, one of the design team’s main concepts was to create a place that bridges the divide between man and the natural environment. Additionally, the tree suites also make reference to local vernacular architecture. With this in mind, the structures employ the use of local materials and a typical gable roof pitch, evoking the poetic image of a house and in short, creating a ‘spatial experience within nature.’
In their contemporary interpretation of vernacular buildings, the architects have applied a wooden exoskeleton that wraps around the entire building. This structure is composed of two layers: a diagrid structure and a second layer made of intersecting timber sticks to filter the light and afford privacy. during the day, light will filter through the external skin to create a playful effect of light and shadows. At night, the structures will glow in the forest. the application of wood works twofold, firstly to reflect a local and sustainable material and secondly, to provide a warm, cozy feeling within the spaces.
A growing number of hotels and hospitality companies are offering nature-immersive experiences, according to the Global Wellness Institute. The institute’s 2019 global wellness report cites “prescribing nature” as a travel trend, fueled in large part by the the fact that more people are living in cities. “As experience in nature becomes another new luxury, hotels and spas are tapping into what makes their destination unique – and offering unique programming,” they wrote.
Take Manshausen Island Resort in Norway, where a recent expansion earned it a place on Sleeper magazine’s best new luxury hotels in the world list. Its seven sea-facing cabins each tout “a unique position and connection with nature.”
Finnish Lapland native Riitta Raekallio-Wunderink recently spoke with Business Insider about her reasons for creating an “Arctic cocooning” hammock wellness experience in her family forest. “For us, it is all about sharing that personal nature experience with people, reminding them of a connection that they maybe didn’t even know existed,” she said.
Reference: Courtesy Peter Pichler Architecture
Austrian National Tourist Office; CNN Travel; Kitzbühel Tourism
Tree Weaver 