The holiday house Alpenblicke is located in Kruen, a Bavarian mountain village near Mittenwald and Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The house was built around 1936 and renovated in 2008/2009 radically. It now offers contemporary comfort for 6 to 7 people. Bavarian cosiness here is perfectly combined with modern design. The high-quality furnishing in combination with rustic elements creates a comfortable atmosphere. In fine weather you can enjoy the alpine panorama from the large terrace. The Upper Bavarian mountains attract visitors with a variety of activities: skiing in winter, and in summer the house is a good starting point for hikes and excursions.

Country/Region: DE-Germany, upper Bavaria, Kruen
Name: Alpenblicke
Scenery: situated in a village in the Alps, close to the lake Walchensee
Type of accommodation: house
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2009
Architect: Wimmer Architekten, Duisburg
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.alpenblicke.de
Special Features: ./.

The Goms in the Swiss Valais is the uppermost valley of the Rhone. Surrounded by mountains between 3,000 and 4,000 meters lies the village of Geschinen. It’s a small village with old wooden houses. The Leerschir is one of these houses. Built in 1897 as a cow barn, the building was converted in 2011 in a house with three apartments. The apartments are bright and modern designed and offer contemporary comfort. Between the new white walls the old larch wood is still visible. A heat pump, on Swiss “Erdsondenheizung”, supplies the floor heating in all rooms. The Leerschir is in all seasons a good starting point for exploring the upper valley and to enjoy the surrounding mountains.

Country/Region: CH-Switzerland, Valais, Goms, Geschinen
Name: Leerschir
Scenery: Alps, high Rhone valley, close to Aletsch Glacier
Type of accommodation: apartment
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Weger AG, www.wegerag.ch
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Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.feriengoms.ch
Special Features: some of the apartments can be combined

The Explorer Hotel Fischen is a Budget-Hotel for people who love sports. The House is designed in a modern style with clear lines and functional rooms. Rough wood cites the regional architecture and is used inside and for the facade. The color green isn´t just a design element, but represents also the ecological concept of the Explorer Hotel. Using renewable energies like biogas and electricity from solar and hydro power makes it a climate-neutral building. Enjoy an environment friendly vacation !

Country/Region: DE-Germany, Bavaria, Oberstdorf/Fischen
Name: Explorer Hotel Fischen
Scenery: Alps of Algaeu
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2010
Architect: architekten sieber-renn.de, Alfred Sieber, Hans-Martin Renn, Sonthofen
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: artouro – Bayrischer Tourismus Architektur Preis 2011 (award for tourism architecture in Bavaria)
Homepage: www.explorer-hotel.de
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A home away from home. That’s the impression which welcomes guests to the Brücke 49 in the Swiss mountain village of Vals. The house is located next to the new Rhine bridge, which explains the name (Brücke = bridge). The house was once built as a villa with a French influence: A local builder constructed the house, but the plans were drawn up in Paris. The building combines a typical local style with (for Vals) unusually large and high rooms.
Ruth Kramer and Thomas Schacht took over the house in 2010 and carefully restored it. For the interior, they chose an eclectic mix of old and new, period furniture and iconic designs and quality in the details. The result is a bed&breakfast address for people with a passion for design, architecture and originality – and those who are in search of a fresh mountain breeze.

Country/Region: Vals, Graubünden, Schwitzerland
Name: Brücke 49
Scenery: mountain village
Type of accommodation: Bed & Breakfast
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Ruth Kramer / Thomas Schacht / Paul Furger
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.brucke49.ch
Special Features: The B&B is close to the Spa Therme Vals. Vals is also a good place for skiing.

The building where you find Freiraum Zentral, is a former print shop. Now it is converted into a townhouse with loft apartments. Each loft has a different size and an individual style, but all follow a straight and clear architectural and interior design. An important facet are the colors: Mostly you find black, white and different kinds of brown – and as a contrast loud and bright colors for accents.

Country/Region: DE-Germany, Bavaria, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Name: Freiraum Zentral
Scenery: middle of the village, alpine panoramas, with Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze
Type of accommodation: apartment
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Planlust Architekten, Munich
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Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.freiraum-zentral.com
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Pictures: Marc Gilsdorf

Commeire is a a small mountain villages in Switzerland, 1450 meters about sea level. It is one of these remote places, where people lived self-sufficient for centuries. Each family owned several buildings, including a barn for the cattle. Times have changed and today no one works as a farmer anymore. So there was the need for a new use of these old barns. Several of them were carefully converted to modern holiday homes, but they kept a lot of their original character.
The barns are scattered throughout the small village, each has its own individual atmosphere. Depending on the size, four to ten people can stay in such a house.
The Montagne Alternative is a remarkable project, which is still growing. It brings new life to the old mountain village

Country/Region: Schwitzerland, Wallis, Commune of Orsières, Commeire
Name: Montagne Alternative
Scenery: in an old mountain village, with fantastic views
Type of accommodation: house / resort
Architecture: old&new
Completion: since 2009
Architect: dl-i, designlab-intérieurs, CH-Sàrl, Patrick Devanthéry
Press/Publication: several, e.g. Le Temps, Habiter, Wellness & Santé Magazine
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.montagne-alternative.com
Special Features: several buildings scattered throughout the village

The two things that catch your eyes when you arrive at the Naturresidence Dahoam: the exceptional view over the valley of Meran and the modern architecture of the house. The building is situated on a hillside above the village Schenna. It´s oriented towards southwest – not only to bring a lot of sun to the large balconies, this is also part of the ecological concept. Completed in summer 2010, the house is built according to the sustainable PassivHaus standard: Solar energy, use of rainwater and local woods are some of these aspects.
The house has four different apartments for 2 to 6 people. All apartments have a modern interior, large windows so you can see the surrounding peaks and access to the garden with the swimming pool. And finally, if you like to ask questions about the architecture of Naturresidence Dahoam, you can find your hosts close by: the family lives on the top floor of the house.

Country/Region: IT-Italia, South Tyrol, Schenna
Name: Naturresidence Dahoam
Scenery: fantastic views of mountain scenery
Type of accommodation: apartment
Architecture: modern
Completion: july 2010
Architect: Manuel Benedikter, IT-Bozen
Press/Publication: u.a. Schöner Wohnen, Casa naturale, Turrisbabel, Maxime, Abenteuer und Reisen
Awards: ./.
homepage: www.dahoam.it
Special Features: KlimaHaus (climate house) Gold certificate, semi-natural swimming pond with panoramic views.

Zumthor. It’s just this name and you start to think about spaces. Spaces with a surprising materiality and an outstanding atmosphere. These are the pictures you know about the spa Therme Vals. But there is more. The baths is just a part of a hotel complex with four other buildings.
The hotel was built in the late 1960s and is characterized by the style of this period. Parts of the houses were modernized. 60 rooms were redesigned by Peter Zumthor. 40 of them, called “Provisorien” (Temporaries) as a reference to the renewal process, can be found in the main building, where Zumthor also redesigned the restaurant and lounge. The other 20 rooms, named the “Stucco Rooms”, are situated in House Selva which is close by. But House Selva has not only rooms designed by Zumthor: Several were renovated in the 1980s and 1990s. And finally, there are rooms which are still in the original condition of the 1960s. These rooms have separated foldaway beds.
You can see that the Hotel Therme Vals is a place, which is successfully trying to renew itself without losing its origin. This makes a visit not only worth to experience contemporary architecture, but also to have a look back into architectural ideas of the last 40-50 years. But of course you can also simply enjoy the surrounding mountains.

Country/Region: Schwitzerland, Graubuenden, Vals
Name: Hotel Therme Vals
Scenery: alpine landscape, on the hillside overlooking the valley
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2006
Architect: Atelier Peter Zumthor & Partner AG, Haldenstein
Press/Publication: many !
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.therme-vals.ch
Special Features: Vals also is a nice (but hardly known) ski area.
Pictures: Therme Vals

The ASI Lodge is surrounded by dense forest, green meadows and the peaks of the Limestone Alps, the lake Achensee is nearby.
The house was formerly known under the name Hotel Windegg: In 1989 the new building by architect Hans Peter Peter was regarded as a modern answer to the traditional Tyrolean hotel buildings.
Meanwhile, under new leadership, the old main house and the central building were demolished. A new wing expands the building with open, light-flooded rooms, a new lobby, dining room and bar. At the spa area, the landscape opens up to the valley.

Country/Region: AT-Austria, Steinberg am Rofan (Achensee), Tirol
Name: ASI Lodge
Scenery: Mountains, Alps. On a meadow glade in the valley of Steinberg, overlooking the idyllic Achensee.
Type of accommodation: hotel
Architecture: modern
Completion: 2005
Architect: Dieter Mathoi
Press/Publication: ./.
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.asi-lodge.at
Special Features: The Lodge is a good basecamp for hiking or snowshoeing.

Information about the history of the building (Hotel Windegg)

The sophisticated, slightly fusty imperial and royal charm that pervades the air at the former imperial spa of Bad Gastein in Austria, ends abruptly as you cross the threshold of the Regina. Its youthful manager, Olaf Krohne, a Gastein-enthusiast for many years, has awoken the hotel from what had been a seemingly eternal slumber. The design mixes furnishings reminiscent of the old Baroque with a spark or two of irony. The hotel also boasts a futuristic summit bar at an altitude of 2,161m.

Country/Region: AT-Austria, Bad Gastein. Salzburger Land
Name: DAS REGINA HOTEL
Scenery: In the center of Bad Gastein. With breathtaking panoramic views of the Hohen Tauern.
Lodging: hotel
Architecture: old&new
Completion: 2011
Architect: Nora Witzigman Interior
Press/Publication: SZ-Magazin, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Sleek, Mini Magazin, Smart Travelling
Awards: ./.
Homepage: www.dasregina.com
Special Features: This hotel is perfectly suited to young and young-at-heart individualists with or without children. Dogs are welcome. It is the ideal base for winter sports. The REGINA’s ski bar is situated at an altitude of 2,161m in Sportgastein in a spherical UFO-style (former) lift, designed by architect Gerhard Garstenauer. The Regina Café at Bad Gastein’s railway centre also belongs to the hotel. In summer, the REGINA Mountain Beach, on the southern side of the hotel, is a great place to relax. A wonderful base from which to experience the mountains, whether you enjoy walking or any other kind of mountain sport. The hotel even has its own little cinema with seating for 16.

Nora Witzigmann, the designer, says of the concept: “Everything had to be completed quite quickly. The first guest had already booked when the renovation work started, 6 weeks before he was due to arrive. And as we couldn’t let a guest down, there was no margin for delays.
So we gave it our all. The greatest challenge was clearing out the cluttered rooms and identifying what should stay, and how.
This conundrum resulted in a mix of old, transformed old, and deliberately unchanged elements. It might irritate some, but if you come to Bad Gastein with a touch of nostalgia (something I would definitely recommend!), then you will be right at home. It’s an “all-embracing” experience…”