Alpine architecture has been attracting renewed interest in recent years due to the sheer quality of its design and the benefits it brings to the surrounding communities.
The hospitality sector in particular plays a crucial role in reviving local economies. The common factors shared by newly built and renovated properties include a high level of comfort, strategic locations in terms of visitor activities and the stunning mountain landscape, the presence of dedicated wellness spaces and a focus on sustainability.
On the Italian side of the Alps, the South Tyrol has played a pioneering role in the development of this kind of architecture, but the above-mentioned characteristics are also to be found in other regions. In Livigno, a small Italian enclave in an area located geographically within the Engadine valley, a recent example is the Hotel Dimora degli Dei (literally «Home of the gods») at Passo d’Eira, close to the ski slopes at an altitude of 2,200 metres.
With its strategic location and breathtaking views, this new hotel truly lives up to its name and seems to be just a step away from the sky.
The hotel has twelve guest rooms (all individually designed with clean, minimalist furnishings warmed by the presence of wood), plus a panoramic sun terrace and a wellness area with whirlpool baths and a countercurrent swimming pool, a sauna, a Turkish bath, experience showers and a gym.
The project carried out by Guido Olzer from the Livigno- and Sondrio-based practice Studio Olzer S.T.P. began in 2017 and was completed in the summer of 2021. It consists of two juxtaposed volumes, a warm, welcoming apartment building and an airy glazed greenhouse-like structure which houses the daytime areas and performs an important climate control function, improving the environmental performance of the overall structure.
In keeping with the importance of sustainability for projects of this kind, the energy needs of the small luxury hotel are met by a biomass system backed up by photovoltaics and solar thermal energy. It features exterior thermal insulation along with an innovative system for monitoring water consumption, and even the air is treated and recirculated.
In keeping with this approach, porcelain tiles from Refin’s Foil collection were chosen in a variety of colours and sizes for the floor and wall coverings in various spaces such as corridors, stairwells and the daytime areas.
The spa area is dominated by the Tune collection in a special non-slip finish and a colour palette ranging from light to dark grey.
Made from a mixture of natural and 100% recyclable raw materials, porcelain stoneware is itself already a highly eco-sustainable product, but the tiles chosen for the Hotel Dimora degli Dei go one step further in that three out of four colour versions are made from recycled material.
