Apartment Ver­gal­derie

Anyone who men­tions Vor­arlberg can hardly fail to think of the region’s tra­di­tional timber-frame archi­tecture. The Ver­gal­derie in Ver­galden, above the mountain village of Gar­gellen, is a dif­ferent story. Here at the head of the Mon­tafon valley, between rugged peaks and expansive natural land­scapes, Vor­arlberg architect Christian Tonko has created a retreat that breaks with regional tra­dition and instead adopts the lan­guage of high-alpine shelters and toll huts: solid, stone-built, as if the building itself were a rock for­mation. After all, buil­dings were once con­s­tructed using locally available mate­rials – wood in the valley, stone at higher alti­tudes.
Con­sistent with this logic, every stone was coll­ected by hand over many years by Christian Tonko and his family from the eroded areas in the sur­rounding coun­tryside, and then assembled – much like a jigsaw puzzle – into an unpo­lished façade mosaic. This is com­bined with spruce shingles, which also ori­ginate from the region. The result is a calm, mini­malist structure to which the façade mate­rials lend a vibrant colour palette and sculp­tural texture.
Whilst the outer shell blends into the mountain land­scape – the house is situated 100 metres above the village, directly on the ski slope – the three loft apart­ments on the upper floor offer a light-filled, warm and open-plan con­trast inside. Large windows in the external walls, which are over 80 cm thick, frame the dra­matic high-mountain backdrop, whilst the absence of par­tition walls creates a fluid sense of space. The bathroom stands in the room like a solitary piece of fur­niture, testing the boun­daries between function and aes­thetics.
The mate­rials used now also include the well-estab­lished Vor­arlberg timber, such as rough-sawn silver fir on the walls and cei­lings, and ash wood for the flo­oring.
The two apart­ments, “Wide White Space” and “Luxe, calme et volupté”, are each sui­table for two people and, in addition to a large living area with kitchen, bedroom and en-suite bathroom, also feature a loggia – one offering views of the Gar­gellen moun­tains and the ski area, the other a quieter, more intimate view of the alpine meadow in front of the house. The third holiday apartment, “On the Go”, with its two bed­rooms, a living area fea­turing dif­ferent levels and ceiling heights, and a terrace leading to the garden, offers ideal accom­mo­dation for families.
The heart of the Ver­gal­derie is the gallery room on the ground floor, where the works of the Vor­arlberg sculptor Herbert Albrecht are exhi­bited – and which, as a reception area, con­nects the worlds of art and mountain sports. Thus, cul­tu­rally inspired, you can head out to the ski slope, which lies right on your doorstep, to the next ski tour or on one of the countless hikes.

What to do

Hikes of varying lengths and difficulty levels, mountaineering, forest bathing, cycling, skiing, ski touring at all levels of difficulty (snow guaranteed in winter), all starting right on your doorstep (even the classic routes in the Rätikon and Silvretta are easily manageable as day trips from Gargellen), snowshoeing, visiting art galleries, enjoying the peace and quiet

Why we like this house

Here, every stone tells its own unique story – a place for mountain lovers and artistic encounters.

This house is great for

For couples and families of up to four people who are interested in mountain sports – particularly ski touring – and have an appreciation for architecture, art and design

Sustainability

Public transport: From Schruns station, take bus route 670 to Gargellen village centre. From there, it is about 1 km on foot. However, a shuttle service can be arranged; e-mobility: There are charging stations at the Schafbergbahnen valley station in Gargellen.

Details

Availability calendar

The calendar shows the current availability of the accommodation. On days with a white background, the accommodation is still fully available. If an accommodation has more than one rentable unit, days with free capacities are shown with a light grey background. On days with a dark grey background, the accommodation is not available.

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