Architecture & Design Shortlist

These picturesque wooden houses, made of heavy square beams, were built as simple block structures. They have a large entrance on the mountain-facing side and two tiny windows, which seem to stare at passers-by, on the side facing the valley. Finally, there is a mouth-like door. Worn by rough weather, heavy snow and the gleaming sun, the wood is burnt to a dark brown. Alpine barns, referred to as Stadel, Schüpfen or Maiensäss, are a common sight in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. They were used as shelter for animals in the summer and for storing farming equipment and hay in the winter. Today, with grass for the cows being conserved in plastic wrapping, alpine barns are used less and less, and are slowly starting to disintegrate.

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