alpitecture summit 2011, KiMM Meran – architecture in the Alpine region
In May 2011, the alpitecture platform held its first one-day congress at the KiMM in Meran. The focus was on cross-border architecture projects in the Alpine region – that is, ventures that operate in several countries at once or that take a comparative look at typical Alpine themes.
The alpitecture platform sees itself as a forum for the exchange of knowledge between architecture, engineering and building in the Alps. It was founded with the aim of giving Alpine building themes visibility beyond the respective national debates and of facilitating cooperation between practices, universities and industry partners.
As a Tyrolean practice, Stadt:Labor was among the participants – with an interest in precisely the interface that alpitecture addresses: Tyrol, South Tyrol, Salzburg, Bavaria and Graubünden share a common way of building and a common world of materials, yet at the same time have very different regulations, subsidy landscapes and client structures. This tension gives rise to the most interesting projects – and the most difficult tasks of translation.