A shepherd’s refuge, taken down and rebuilt stone by stone.
The refuge stands above the tree line, a two-hour walk from the nearest road. Its walls had begun to lean, and the roof had gone.
Every stone was numbered. The walls were taken down, set on a new footing and rebuilt with the same stones in the same places. Inside, a single room lined in larch.
The walls
Local gneiss laid dry, with lime mortar only on the weather side. From outside the refuge looks as it always did; only the roof is new, in larch shingles that will turn grey in a few winters.
Drawing
Plan and section
Light
One window, deep in a wall sixty centimetres thick. In the morning the sun reaches the bench; by afternoon the room is lit only by the snow outside.
Material
The same stones as before, larch inside and on the roof, lime where the wind needed it. Nothing was brought up that could not be carried.
Use
Open to walkers in summer. In winter the refuge is closed, and the key is kept in the village below.
