In the heart of the Dolomites, Pedevilla Architects’ service building at Kreuzbergpass is both a landmark and a shelter, seamlessly blending contemporary design with the timeless rhythms of the alpine landscape.
Developed as part of the nature park administration’s initiative to create distinctive structures in strategically significant locations, the building offers not only practical services but also an experiential engagement with the surrounding landscape. At 1,636 meters above sea level, it marks the eastern gateway to the Sexten Dolomites, a region where the mountain peaks form a natural sundial—an eternal interplay of time and place.
The architecture takes its cues from the region’s geology and history. The sharply pitched roof echoes the angular rock formations, establishing a direct dialogue with the dramatic peaks that surround it. Positioned at a cross angle to the road, the building asserts its presence as a visual landmark while simultaneously maintaining a sense of humility through a low canopy that softens its approachability. This duality—of striking form and subdued interaction—imbues the structure with a sense of quiet monumentality, a trait characteristic of Pedevilla Architects’ work.
Materiality plays a crucial role in the building’s conceptual depth. The exterior, crafted from white exposed concrete mixed with local dolomite stone, integrates the structure into its alpine setting, while the interior—formed from hand-hewn larch wood—offers warmth and tactility. Amber-colored glass elements bridge these materials, subtly referencing the resin of the surrounding larch trees, a poetic nod to the landscape’s natural rhythms. This careful orchestration of materials not only reinforces a connection to place but also heightens the sensory experience of the visitor—offering both shelter and a profound engagement with the site.
Beyond its contemporary function, the building stands within a landscape layered with historical narratives. The Kreuzbergpass has long been a corridor of movement, from Roman roads to medieval trade routes, and later, to 20th-century infrastructural developments that transformed the pass into a scenic alpine crossing. The building, in this sense, becomes more than a service hub—it is an extension of the site’s evolving history, a contemporary waypoint in the continuum of human and geological time. Pedevilla Architects have crafted a structure that is not merely a visitor center but an architecture of transition, where history, landscape, and materiality converge.
