peter pichler draws from the tyrolean landscape
Peter Pichler Architecture has proposed a Museum Depot in Bolzano, Italy, a complex designed to house, conserve, and share South Tyrol’s cultural collections within a single, carefully planned campus.
Set against the vineyards and steep slopes that ring the valley, the museum building is shaped by a broad, low silhouette that sits close to the terrain, with a raised grassy rooftop and generous glazing that present a calm civic face to the street. From a distance, the structure reads as an agricultural form translated into public architecture, its geometry familiar within the alpine landscape while clearly contemporary in its execution.
visualizations © Peter Pichler Architecture
a museum depot for diverse artworks and artifacts
The new museum depot by Peter Pichler Architecture brings together functions that had been dispersed across the region into one space. Archaeological finds, artworks from provincial museums, photographic and film archives, along with pieces from the Unterberger and Eccel Kreuzer collections and Museion, are gathered under one roof, allowing over one million objects to be conserved with consistent standards and easier public access.
The team led by Peter Pichler organizes the program around relationships between people and collections rather than treating storage as a series of isolated rooms. Offices, laboratories, workshops, storage areas, and galleries connect through direct routes that support daily research and handling. Circulation paths intersect in shared spaces, encouraging exchange between curators, conservators, and visitors.
Peter Pichler Architecture proposes a new museum depot to centralize South Tyrol’s cultural collections
sunlit workspaces above subterranean exhibition zones
Above grade, workspaces cluster around a central courtyard that draws daylight deep into Peter Pichler’s Museum Depot. The courtyard offers a patch of green at the center of the building, giving staff a place to step outside between tasks while maintaining a visual connection with the interior. Sunlight filters through timber soffits and glazed walls, producing a steady, even illumination across desks and benches.
Collection storage and exhibition zones sit below ground, where the earth provides thermal stability. This placement supports steady temperature and humidity levels that are essential for long term preservation. The decision also reduces the apparent scale of the complex when viewed from the surrounding fields, and allows the building to humbly settle into the site.
a transparent foyer welcomes visitors with generous glazing and views toward the mountains
the green roofscape
The roof forms a continuous green surface that extends the landscape across the top of the building. Planted areas soften the outline and manage rainwater while improving insulation. From nearby paths and upper streets, the depot appears as a cultivated ground plane that gently lifts to shelter the spaces beneath.
Access occurs from the plaza and street through a transparent foyer. Glass panels rise to the underside of the pitched roof, framing views of the mountains beyond and bringing daylight into the heart of the museum. Visitors and staff also enter through underground parking, connecting directly to the lower levels without interrupting the public forecourt.
a central courtyard illuminates workspaces and offers staff direct access to green outdoor space
luminous interiors frame views across bolzano
Inside the main hall, a sculptural spiral stair links the underground exhibition rooms with the ground and first floors. Its curved form guides movement in a slow, continuous motion, offering glimpses of storage and display areas along the way. The stair becomes a reference point that helps visitors orient themselves within the layered section of the building.
Material choices lean toward timber, glass, and mineral finishes that age with use. The palette supports a working atmosphere suited to conservation while maintaining the openness needed for a public institution project.
a sculptural spiral stair connects the exhibition levels
exhibition areas are placed underground where stable temperatures protect sensitive artifacts
project info:
name: Museum Depot
architect: Peter Pichler Architecture | @peterpichler_architecture
location: Bolzano, South Tyrol, Italy
design team: Peter Pichler, Daniele Colombati, Niklas Knap, Simona Alù, Cem Ozbasaran, Filippo Ogliani, Nathalia Rotelli, Rama Masri, Maria Pacchi, Alexander Kellner, Aidin Shamsalghoraei
status: in progress
visualizations: © Peter Pichler Architecture
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