A hotel under the barn. Its roots are underground, yet it boasts an amazing view: the hotel designed by noa* in Fiè allo Sciliar was extended by embedding it in the terrain, offering guests a spectacular view and the feeling of being emerged in nature.Photography by Alex Filz.

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Transform a traditional South Tyrolean restaurant into a larger ospitality space, without altering the charming, beautiful landscape with new levels. This was noa*’s goal with its project in Fiè, within the wonderful Dolomite scenery of the Sciliar and the Catinaccio.
The Gfell hotel, which is adjacent to the pre-existing Schönblick restaurant, sits alone
just a stone’s throw from the village of Fiè allo Sciliar, on top of a slope that provides views over unspoiled forests and meadows. The owner was aiming to coordinate this restoration project with top quality accommodation, building new spaces able to enhance the distinctiveness of the location.
“We could have added an extra level”, explains the architect Andreas Profanter, a partner at noa*’s studio. “But in line with the contractors, we opted for a less invasive and more environmentally friendly solution, placing the new section inside the hill. So it’s an earth shelter construction that reduces the impact of the operation without taking any views away from the restaurant, whilst in actual fact, providing all the guests at the new hotel with a spectacular panorama. And not only that, but an old barn on site has been refurbished as an additional space for the new hotel”. The hotel, which takes its name from the Gfell meadows (prati di Gfell) area, has been
classified as 3-star superior.

Project name Gfell
Typology Hotel, wellness
Location Fiè allo Sciliar, South Tyrol (Italy)
Client Gfell
Architecture noa* network of architecture
Interior Design noa* network of architecture
Construction start January 2020
Completion July 2020
Intervention Expansion
Volume 6.300 m3
Surface area 2.000 m2
Text (IT) Laura Ragazzola
Translations (EN) Landoor
Photographs Alex Filz