Steven Holl Architects unveiled a masterplan for Gran Sasso in Abruzzo, Italy in the town of Prati di Tivo. The project’s drawings and models are on view at Antonia Jannone Disegni di Architettura in the exhibition Steven Holl: Half Earth, on view May 26 through July 14.
The Prati di Tivo Piazza at Gran Sasso will create a new community plaza at the base of the Gran Sasso Mountains, the highest in the Apennines. The three new building elements are all articulated yet subordinate to the view of the great stone mountain.
The buildings shape a new space to be enjoyed by the regional community and visitors from abroad. Phase I includes the public piazza, pools, and fountains, and a sliced spherical pavilion inspired by paintings of Giorgio Morandi, constructed on the foundations of a former ski lift.
The geothermally heated and cooled pavilion has five apartments and a café/bar. Phase II includes renovation and expansion of an existing 1950s concrete structure to include a spa, restaurant, and eleven hotel rooms. Phase III includes underground parking and a 42-room hotel of CLT wood construction with balcony rooms facing the mountain.
All three new structures are roofed in pre-weathered Verdigris copper and are geothermally heated and cooled, employing the latest sustainable materials and techniques to achieve the highest ecological standards.
“The masterplan for Gran Sasso supports E. O. Wilson’s idea of “half earth” as all the surrounding landscape is preserved. The architecture will be ecologically realized and in spirit stands in awe of the great mountain above and the gift of its stone silence,” says Steven Holl. Source by Steven Holl Architects.
- Location: Prati di Tivo, Italy
- Architect: Steven Holl Architects
- Design architect, principal: Steven Holl
- Partner in charge: Dimitra Tsachrelia
- Project architect: Wenying Sun
- Project team: Michael Haddy, Maxwell Funk, Yining He
- Year: 2023
- Images: Courtesy of Steven Holl Architects
