The extension of a Museum in South Tyrol

In the Abbey of Novacella, ModusArchitects stitches together different historical periods with an architectural style that knows how to create a common sense of harmony.

In the green Isarco Valley near Bressanone (Bolzano), the Novacella Abbey, founded in 1142, is one of the most significant architectural landmarks in South Tyrol.

ModusArchitects' project creates a new entrance hall in the Abbey, brings together the existing secondary structures into a single pathway system and connects them to the main bodies through an unexpected connection: a bridge covered in blackened copper, the only element that reveals the redevelopment of the museum from the outside.

Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021
Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021

"Our extension helps visitors to be oriented in the spaces of the Abbey and inserts itself onto its stratified history, proposing new paradigms and new vocabularies thanks to an architectural language that respects the past but is open to new interpretations of the future," says Matteo Scagnol, co-founder with Sandy Attia of the Bressanone-based architecture firm MoDusArchitects.

The rewriting of the interior spaces starts with discreet incursions: from the finishing of vertical and horizontal surfaces - exposed bushhammered concrete walls, rough plaster and spatulate concrete floors - to the large windows that are opened up, to the essential chestnut wood furnishings and delicate copper details.

Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021
Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021

The measured use of this palette of elements is complemented by an exceptional element: Paul Renner's artistic intervention. The artist wraps the metal frame of the lift tower with a natural texture just where visitors descend from the upper level of the cloister towards the entrance. Through the use of romantic and imaginative decorations Renner achieves a pleasant friction between the nudity of the interior and the botanical heritage of the Abbey.

Thanks to the soft tones, the natural materials and the grace of the details, the architecture creates a poetic balance that restores its sense of peacefulness, a peculiarity of the place.

Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021
Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum, MoDusArchitects, Varna (Bolzano), 2021
Project:
Expansion of the Abbey of Novacella Museum
Program:
Museum
Architects:
MoDusArchitects
Project team:
Sandy Attia, Matteo Scagnol, Laura Spezzoni
Museum set-up:
Alessandro Gatti, doc s.r.l.
Client:
Abbey of Novacella Museum
Artist:
Paul Renner
Structural Engineer:
Ing. Philipp Prighel, Bergmeister ITB
Location:
Varna (Bolzano)
Completion:
2021

Latest on Architecture

Latest on Domus

Read more
China Germany India Mexico, Central America and Caribbean Sri Lanka Korea icon-camera close icon-comments icon-down-sm icon-download icon-facebook icon-heart icon-heart icon-next-sm icon-next icon-pinterest icon-play icon-plus icon-prev-sm icon-prev Search icon-twitter icon-views icon-instagram