In Timmelsjoch, Austria, a fine piece of architecture seems to defy gravity! I’m talking about the Pass Museum, where its name fully confirms its function: the perfect spot to rest and enjoy the outstanding alpine landscape. It also serves as a monument in honor of the alpine road pioneers and their exceptional accomplishments.
A sinuous path leads our steps to this amazing structure. The design references the shape of an erratic rock that simply seems to erect itself from the land on which it stands.
This monolithic museum assumes a faceted form which lends a sculptural character to its exterior appearance. An earth-tone finish given to its exterior facades enhances the previous quality, also allowing a perfect blend with the surrounding context up to the point that we can’t distinguish nature from architecture!
This architectural sculpture also operates as a vantage point, appointing views from the inside out to the non-glaciated indentation in the alpine silhouette. The interior works as an artificial cavern open on both extremes with two generous glazed windows: one serve as the main entrance; the other frames the most impressive view from a small suspended veranda.
Internal shaped walls are full of pictures allusive to the alpine heroes, maybe a contemporary reinterpretation of the communicative power of the cave pictures made by early prehistoric humans? After all, time seems to be suspended in the surroundings of Pass Museum to eternity, and here architecture appears to follow the hidden geometry of this rocky nature: silence and serenity…
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