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13. April 2026
Reinhold Messner Haus by Plasma Studio
Architecture, BIG SEE Architecture Award 2026 – Winner, Cultural buildings, Italy
The Reinhold Messner Haus on Mount Helm in Sexten transforms a former cable car station into a cultural and educational space dedicated to the Alpine landscape. Located at 2.000 m a.s.l., the building overlooks the Sesto Valley, where ski infrastructure meets untouched nature. The project preserves the infrastructural identity of the original structure, while redefining it as an accessible and contemplative place.
The program includes exhibition areas, a small cinema, and a panoramic platform, connected by an immersive spatial path that narrates the mountain environment and the building’s technical history. The intervention follows an upcycling strategy: the existing concrete and steel structure was preserved, stripped of later additions, and left visible in its raw state. New elements adopt the same logic of material honesty, using exposed concrete, standard steel profiles, and metal sheets to create a dialogue between old and new, valuing endurance and authenticity over perfection.