The Piasentina Stone protagonist of an alpine residence in Bavaria

The Piasentina Stone by Julia Marmi becomes the protagonist of a characteristic Bavarian mountain residence, called Ahorn 7 and intended as holiday apartments in Reit im Winkl, a well-known ski resort in the German Alps in Upper Bavaria. 

Pietra Piasentina, a stone material of great value quarried  exclusively in a small foothill area of Friuli, has been widely used both outdoors - thanks to its technical characteristics of resistance to harsh climates - and indoors characterized by a contemporary and linear design, definitely in contrast to the traditional aesthetics of the external building facades.

The renovation and interior design project is by the architect Mirko Ruppenstein from Stuttgart. The chalet, built in 1960 and enlarged in 1970, consists of 3 holiday apartments, a private apartment for the owners and a service basement.

The Piasentina Stone quarried  and processed by the historic company Julia Marmi from Friuli - the company owns three active quarries near Cividale del Friuli - has been used in different formats and surface treatments. All the external floors are flamed while, in the interiors, the surfaces are flamed and brushed both in the floors - all the floors are in 30x2 cm format, made with elements of different lengths - and in the bathroom wall cladding. The artifacts and surfaces have been expertly studied and created ad hoc at the company headquarters.

The bathrooms reveal to be the privileged place where this material has been declined in a wide variety of applications and textures: the large size slabs, tailored, that cover the shower walls made with whole elements high up to the ceiling, laid “mirrored” as symmetrically so that the veins compose decorative motifs - the same technique is used for the bathtub covering; the shower trays that come from a single piece of material and the washbasin shelves, characterized by the flamed surface and the " natural cleft " finished edge that enhance the warmth and "naturalness" of the stone; a particular mini-washbasin obtained from a hollowed block with flamed and brushed exterior and brushed interior. Finally of Pietra Piasentina is also the stairs’ cladding and the top of the fireplace.