At first glance, Refugi Lieptgas has the reassuring outline of a small Alpine hut. Move closer and the familiar horizontal walls become something more unusual: the texture recalls stacked timber, but the material is concrete.
The project in Flims, Switzerland, is by architects Georg Nickisch and Selina Walder. Its design preserves the impression of an earlier wooden shelter by using the old structure in the casting process. The result carries a memory of the hut into a very different kind of building.
A surface with a story
The exterior is more interesting when seen as a record of another material. Rounded profiles and irregularities interrupt the smoothness normally associated with concrete. In winter, snow settles along those edges and makes the pattern easier to read.
That is the central design pleasure here: a modest building invites a second look. The familiar shape helps it belong in the landscape, while the closer details reveal how deliberately it has been remade.
Windows that make a small room feel specific
Inside, the photographs show a quieter arrangement of concrete surfaces, pale cabinetry and carefully placed openings. One view reaches into the trees; another comes close to the boulders beside the building. The windows frame particular pieces of the site rather than offering an interchangeable mountain panorama.
Notice how the bench, table and window work together. In a compact room, the place where someone sits can be as important as the size of the glazing. A well-chosen view gives an ordinary daily activity a sense of occasion.
These are architectural archive photographs, so consult the property’s current information separately if planning a stay. Compare the approach with Mike Basich’s self-built mountain cabin, or explore a temporary accommodation experiment in the 2015 Courchevel cable-car room.
Another compact Swiss project hides a wooden interior behind an unexpected exterior: BUREAU A’s rock-shaped ANTOINE cabin.
A familiar outline in an unfamiliar material
The Graubünden project attributed to Nickisch Sano Walder plays with the expectations created by a log-cabin silhouette. The exterior recalls timber construction, while the interior photographs reveal a much more angular and mineral-looking space. That contrast is the architectural subject, rather than a trick that needs to remain hidden until the end of the article.
Read the gallery from outside to inside. Surface texture establishes the connection with a traditional cabin, then openings, corners and interior planes change the impression. Words such as “cozy” or “cold” describe a viewer’s response, not measured performance of the building. The project is more interesting when those judgements are left open and the photographs are used to show how material and familiar form can pull in different directions.
Sources, photography and further reading
Original feature and image attributions:
- Viral Nova
- Acid Cow
- This Looks Like A Charming Little Cabin. And It Is… But It’s So Much More Than That. Trust Me.
- This Snow Melted Off the Cabin Roof in a VERY Strange Way
- It Looks Like A Rock On A Mountainside…But It’s Hiding A Big Secret.
- It Might Look Like A Normal Stack Of Firewood. But When You Step Closer… WHOA!
- A Couple Got Out Of The Rat Race. And Built This Tiny Home For $33K.
- Yes, That Is The Entrance To This Guy’s House. And No, He’s Not A Beggar… He’s Just Awesome.
- project in Flims, Switzerland
- Mike Basich’s self-built mountain cabin
- 2015 Courchevel cable-car room
- BUREAU A’s rock-shaped ANTOINE cabin
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