A
The Mountain Is Calling
Name
Sarah Christine Malinowski
Education degree
Kandidat
Fagfelt
Architecture
Institute
Architecture, Urbanism and Landscape
Program
Urbanism and Societal Change
Year
2025
Awards
Månssons
The Mountain Is Calling
(German: "Der Berg Ruft")
Navigating Alpine Instability In The Ötztal Region
"Even the most conservative projections estimate a loss of permafrost in discontinuous zones by 2099."
- Annette I. Patton, “Landslide response to climate change in permafrost regions.”
The thawing of permafrost, especially in alpine environments, has significant consequences on built fabric. However, an observable trend of expansion persists, as high-altitude and remote permafrost areas continue to undergo urbanization. While most of these new developments are driven by economic incentives associated with tourism, they largely overlook the severe climatic changes currently underway and the impacts of permafrost degradation—not only on the built environment but also on the socio-economic structures of these regions.
Permafrost in the Alpine Region:
And Its Impacts On Ground Stability
Permafrost is an invisible thermal phenomenon that consists of lithospheric material, such as soil, sand, sediment or rocks, that remains at or below 0°C for a minimum of two consecutive years.
Due to seasonal temperature variations, permafrost develops what is known as an active layer. Typically ranging from 0.5 to 8 meters in thickness, in this portion of the permafrost soil, surface temperatures rise above the melting point, causing the material directly beneath the surface to thaw.
Fragility Of The Alpine Landscape:
As the rate of warming in the Alps is twice the global average, the effects are felt more immediately, eg. in the form of glacier retreat, reduced snowfall and extreme weather events.
This can also be seen in the thaw of the permafrost in the Alps, which’s lower limit has risen by about 150 meters, since 1850. Taking updated temperature projections and the particularly high sensitivity of alpine regions to climatic changes into account, the occurrence and magnitude of alpine hazards due to thermokarst are likely to increase.
Alps Experience 2x Global Warming Rate
In mountainous, mostly discontinuous permafrost environments, permafrost's presence, which is mostly in the form of rock glaciers, push-moraines, ice faces and hanging glaciers, acts as a binding agent that reinforces the structural integrity of these landscapes, making it essential for the long-term stability of alpine and high-altitude regions.
The thawing of permafrost in alpine environments has significant consequences for both natural landscapes and built infrastructure, including transportation networks, critical infrastructure, and local settlements such as huts.
„At the same time, the Alpine macro-region is becoming increasingly important as a resource area for local residents. (…) The conflicts of interest and utilization that already exist today are therefore not only likely to increase in the course of this development but will also become more acute in the future.” - Cathrine Duttweiler, “Wie wir die Alpen retten,” Tages-Anzeiger, June 30, 2023
Permafrost in the Alpine Region:
And Its Clash With Urbanized Built Fabric
Due to industrialization and the introduction of railways, the alpine region today is highly interconnected. In many ways, the history of tourism in the Alps can be seen as a form of urban colonization.
The rise of mass tourism in the Alps, beginning in the mid-1950s during the summer and later expanding to winter tourism, initially maintained a strong connection to “nature” and local alpine culture. Over time, however, the essence of tourism shifted, with increasing detachment from the unpredictable natural conditions that once defined the experience.
And so the nature, more specifically the mountains, “became a piece of leisure or sports equipment”. - Roger Diener et al., Switzerland: An Urban Portrait
Resortification Of The Alps:
Areas once considered too remote and alpine for settlement have been transformed due to the urban character of resorts, where tourism is the main source of income for the local population. Defined by excellent accessibility, extensive internal transportation networks, and high-quality infrastructure, these regions have become part of an urban network.
This is particularly evident in regions such as the Ötztal valley, where the peak population, including seasonal visitors, is nearly twice the permanent resident population.
The Ötztal region, located in the western part of Tirol, is characterized by its dramatic alpine landscape, featuring some of Austria’s highest peaks, including the Wildspitze. Situated near the Italian border, the region has historically been a contested space, shaped by shifting cultural influences over time.
Today the maximum population reaches nearly twice the resident population, the areas not only experience the effects of an expanding tourism industry but also profit from it. To sustain this remarkable level of tourism, continuous expansion and enhancement of infrastructure are essential.
Despite the increasing frequency of natural hazards, land-use policies have failed to adequately respond to shifting climatic conditions and, in many cases, continue to facilitate tourism-driven development.
Urbanized Ötztal
Current Landuse, Benefitting Tourism Developments
A Paradigm Shift:
Towards New Investment Habits
As urbanization expands into remote Alpine regions, it increasingly conflicts with the destabilization of landscapes. The lack of categories responding to the fundamental changes in landscapes calls for a change in the way we use and categorise land.
“The WBGU speaks of a “social contract for a Great Transformation.” For such a contract to come into being, it is however not enough to continue with existing policies; what is needed is a paradigm shift or, as the younger generation puts it, a system change.” - Thomas Kissling, Solid Fluid Biotic
In response, this project aims to shift our current investment habits, from construction for resortification and expansion, to invest into new adaptive land-use strategies that address a collective, more than human memory- introducing multicultural buffer zones, dynamic landscape protection, and controlled retreat—to accommodate erosion processes and enable a transition beyond ski-tourism.
Key Project Statements
A New Risk - Based Landscape Zoning:
From the identification of the new highly fragile permafrost zones, the run off zones and the zones in which habitation will be feasible, four main strategies guide a new zoning:
- Retreat from permafrost affected regions
2. Implementation of a new line of protection
3. A new form of urbanity: self sufficiency
4. A new identity (leisure and production) for the region
3 New Landscapes, 3 Responses
The four main strategies aim, to address the dynamic changes of the landscape, by retreating from permafrost affected regions, while allowing for inhabitation in designated areas, around debris run off zones.
Layers of Protection will enable a form of protection from hazards:
The existing forests currently serve as a protective buffer for the lower-lying villages situated within the valleys. In response to the upward shift of the treeline, reforestation initiatives will be implemented to reinforce this natural defense system, establishing an enhanced vegetative barrier against debris flow.
Furthermore, the elevation of the treeline presents an opportunity to create ecological corridors across mountain passes, thereby linking adjacent valleys. These vegetative connections will facilitate species migration and contribute to the resilience and stability of the macroclimatic conditions within each valley system.
Following the current treeline, which ranges between 1800 and 2300 meters in elevation, a new line of protective infrastructure is proposed: Strategically placed protective debris dams are designed to redirect sediment and rock flows into designated runoff corridors. These structures aim to mitigate the impact of extreme geomorphological events and safeguard valley settlements from large-scale destruction.
Within and surrounding village areas, retention basins are introduced as a flood mitigation strategy. These basins regulate surface water runoff and reduce the risk of inundation, thereby protecting the built environment.
Finally, it is proposed that administrative boundaries be redefined to align with the vertical stratification of natural hazards and the dynamic ecological and hydrological interconnections of the reconfigured landscape.
A New Alpine Identity
Ötztal's New Identity
"For each valley things will be a bit different." - Thomas Kissling, Solid Fluid Biotic
A Post -Skiing Future
The stopping of the skiing industry, that is due to the environmental and investment shift, will allow for the materials to become a part of the new landscapes, acting as remenants of the past resortification. Disassembled and reused, the elements of the former urban fabric become the emblems of the new identity.
Fragments Of Past Resortification
Vent
In-Between Erosion
The mountaineering village Vent is situated at the head of the Ventertal Valley. Located at an altitude of 1,900 meters, at the base of the Wildspitze, it is the second-highest permanent settlement in the Eastern Alps. Today Vent has around 150 inhabitants, and 126.000 overnight stays annually, and tourism remains the main source of income.
As the oldest settlement in the Ötztal, Vent was first documented in 1241, but it is assumed that a permanent settlement existed long before that. With the increase in tourism in the 20th century, most villages in the Region shifted their focus on winter tourism. Vent, however, strategically emphasized hiking and mountain tourism, setting itself apart from the rest of the municipality.
Today, Vent is characterized by the historic emblems of a hikers village, but also, is surrounded by an increasing risk of destruction.
Three new main protective measures are implemented, to mitigate this risk:
The Dams are made from on-site excavated soil and metal reinforcement. Structures out of reused fragments of the skiing infrastructure make the dam accessible and connect it to a new form of production and leisure.
Inside the village, water retention basins are excavated and connected with a 75-100KW hydro power station, providing energy for the village. Small water tanks, sitting on top of the basin walls collect drinking water.
Retaining walls stabilize the slope in steep moments inside the village, elements to be integrated into the landscape and made publicly accessible.
The dams frame the village, guiding the debris to the run off zones, around the village. A 25 degree angle secures debris collection on the slope side, while a pathway on the top of the dam makes it a part of a new leisure landscape.
A Stair, connected to the decommissioned ski lift station makes the path accessible for the public. Mounted on the former Poles of a lift, solar panels frame the stair, sitting above the tree top.
Vent - In-Between Erosion
Fragments of the former skiing industry are integrated into the new retaining wall, transforming it from a primarily structural and agricultural use— used by the inhabitants of Vent—into a publicly accessible space. In doing so, the intervention redefines the wall as part of a renewed collective identity, where past industrial elements contribute to a contemporary landscape narrative.
The Farming Wall
A bridge constructed from repurposed metal rods and supported by former ski lift poles provides access to a designated water retention area. This intervention not only facilitates practical use of the retention basin but also exemplifies the adaptive reuse of obsolete infrastructure within a changing alpine environment.
The Dam
Linker Fernerkogel
Remenants Of The Expansion Fever
Situated above Winterstall, the mountain peak Linker Fernerkogel is located centrally between the area currently occupied by the Sölden Ski Resort and the area of the Pitztal Ski resort.
In place of the proposed connection between the two ski resorts, a new ecological corridor is envisioned, linking the Ötztal and Pitztal valleys through vegetative restoration.
Linker Fernerkogel - Remenants Of The Expansion Fever
This corridor is anchored by a support tower constructed from repurposed materials, including the former panorama bridge and decommissioned snow cannons. The snow cannons are adapted to disperse stone pine seeds, which possess a robust seed coat capable of withstanding the mechanical pressure of distribution.
The interventions proposed for this site seek to counteract the pressures of expansion-driven development by allowing space for the natural dynamics of the landscape to unfold.
The landscape, shaped by recurrent rockfalls and debris flows, is made legible through a newly established viewpoint, constructed using repurposed materials—specifically, a reused bull wheel and metal rods salvaged from a decommissioned ski lift. Accessibility is ensured via a floating pathway composed of HDPE (high-density polyethylene) impact protection elements, allowing visitors to engage with the site without disturbing the fragile terrain.
The Rondell
At the site of a proposed ski lift expansion, the remnants of winter tourism infrastructure are integrated into a transforming post-glacial landscape.
The Counter Expansion
Hochgurgl - Museum Of Resortification
Hochgurgl, lying above the new treeline, was constructed as a winter destination in 1959 with the completion of the Timmelsjoch High Alpine Road on the Austrian side. The street laid the foundation for tourism in Hochgurgl, which became a hotel ski resort on the mountains.
Marked by a notable contrast between exclusive hotels, ski lift systems, and a historic chapel, the village reflects a juxtaposition of modern tourism development and cultural heritage, where skiing has become the main identity.
Situated on a steep slope, the village lies directly within a natural debris flow path and directly within the new debris catchment zone. And so Parts of Hochgurgl are deconstructed to accommodate the construction of a protective dam for the lower lying villages.
Hochgurgl - Museum Of Resortification
A pathway, accessible from the dam guides through the abandoned village, where the decay has become a monument.
The Path
Over time, the village is expected to become gradually overgrown by vegetation, progressively integrating into the surrounding reforested landscape. Through this process of natural succession, the emerging forest acquires a museal character—where the traces of past habitation are preserved and recontextualized within a living, evolving ecological framework.
The Forest's Resort
In this setting, the remaining architectural fragments become sites of attraction. Guiding the visitor through the Museum, exclusive hotel spas, have now become accessible, for everyone.
Inside The Museum
A New Alpine Identity
The Royal Danish Academy supports the Sustainable Development Goals
Since 2017 the Royal Danish Academy has worked with the Sustainable Development Goals. This is reflected in our research, our teaching and in our students’ projects. This project relates to the following UN goal(-s)
