Pauline Monastery

Built on a steep, forested site, the hermitage bridges multiple storeys of elevation difference and connects the strong core (chapel-library-kitchen-hearth) with the surrounding monastic cells in a 'house within a house' manner. Amid the cold Alpine landscape, all these elements are unified by a massive spiral tower, organised with mezzanine levels, acting as an inner cloister. The building, consecrated last year, embodies the simplicity shaped by the rugged mountain lifestyle, stripping away excess.