Contemporary bivouacs

Bredy Bivouac, BCW Collective
In 2019, YACademy organized a competition to design a bivouac in memory of Claudio Brédy - a politician and mountaineer from the Aosta Valley who tragically lost his life in a climbing accident at the end of 2017 - which was won by BCW Collective. The bivouac, located in the Aosta Valley near the Dzioule Lakes, resembles a telescope framing the view to the south of the Gran Paradiso, clad on the outside in zinc and on the inside in wood. Inside there are foldable bunks made of climbing rope, and a spacious common area that enjoys the splendid view.




Pasqualetti Bivouac, Roberto Dini and Stefano Girodo
On a peak in Valpelline, at 3,290 meters above sea level on the crest of Morion, architects and researchers Roberto Dini and Stefano Girodo have built a bivouac challenging the conditions of the place, characterized by extreme weather phenomena and temperatures that drop below -20°C. The prefabricated structure is divided into four wooden and steel panels, optimized to reduce the number of helicopter flights needed for transport, so that the bivouac can be assembled in just one working day. The sloping roof recalls the jagged peaks that surround the architecture, while the interior has spaces and wooden finishes that make it welcoming and comfortable.




Berrone Bivouac, EX.
The project for this bivouac, by the research and design studio EX. founded by Andrea Cassi and Michele Versaci, is called Pinwheel Shelter, an origami structure at 2,850 meters above sea level built in memory of Stefano Berrone. The project is located in the Alta Valle di Susa, in the Seguret valley, between the municipalities of Oulx and Bardonecchia and its architecture is a sort of rigid tent whose prefabricated and reversible structure in wood and aluminum is conceived as an origami. This multifaceted shape was designed starting from the study of the exposure and direction of the wind, with a structure supported by a steel base.

Continue reading to discover the Pinwheel Shelter.

Bivacco Fanton, Demogo
Built between 2017 and 2021 in the Marmarole fork, in the Dolomites, the Fanton bivouac is located at 2,670 msl surrounded by rock, light, wind and snow, and is accessible only via a difficult five-hour hike. The strong point of this project by the Demogo architecture studio is the large full-height window that, overhanging the rocks, tilts and descends following the slope. Approximately 30 square meters in size, it can accommodate up to 12 people, and has wooden interior spaces that are organized around a narrow corridor in the center surrounded by bunks and shelves.



ph. Janez Martincic

Kanin Winter Cabin, OFIS arhitekti
On the Kanin peak, on the Italian-Slovenian border, the architectural studio OFIS designed a bivouac in 2016 whose main objective was to study the response of architectural objects in 1:1 to extreme weather conditions, radical temperature changes, snow and rugged terrain - in that area the mountains are also full of caves and abysses, and earthquakes occasionally occur. The site is accessible only by climbing or by helicopter and from there you can enjoy splendid 360-degree views of Slovenia and Italy, Triglav, the Soča Valley and the Adriatic Sea. The bivouac forms a compact wooden volume organized with three support platforms on the floor that are suspended towards the valley.