- Project: Lasserhaus
- Architect: Vudafieri-Saverino Partners
- Location: Italy, Brixen (Bressanone), South Tyrol
- Year: 2024
- Photography: Courtesy of Vudafieri-Saverino Partners
Reimagining a 15th-Century Residence Through Contemporary Art and Design
In the heart of Brixen—South Tyrol’s medieval town embraced by Alpine peaks—Vudafieri-Saverino Partners have breathed new life into a 15th-century aristocratic residence known as Lasserhaus. The project exemplifies a sensitive balance between historic preservation and contemporary living, transforming the once-private home into a hybrid of hospitality and art—a 4-star superior Art Hotel on the lower levels and a private residence for the Faller family above.
This dual-purpose restoration project merges centuries-old heritage with modern cultural expression, positioning Lasserhaus as a new architectural and artistic landmark in the city’s evolving urban fabric.
Concept & Architectural Vision
The design concept revolves around dialogue between history and modernity, a principle that defines the Milan-based studio’s approach.
The building—fully protected by Italy’s Superintendency for Archaeology, Fine Arts, and Landscape—required an intervention that respected its original identity while reinterpreting it through a contemporary lens.
Architects Tiziano Vudafieri and Claudio Saverino approached the project with reverence for the genius loci, preserving the ancient structure’s rhythm while introducing a modern program of art, hospitality, and domestic life.
Their goal was not only to restore the building but to reintegrate it into Brixen’s social and cultural life, connecting the town’s medieval character with its progressive artistic scene.
The result is an architectural synthesis: a space of memory and renewal, where frescoed walls, vaulted ceilings, and timber structures coexist with brass, velvet, and larch wood in a narrative of continuity rather than contrast.
Program & Spatial Organization
The architects reorganized the interiors into two primary zones:
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The first and second floors host the Art Hotel Lasserhaus, featuring ten rooms—three suites, six doubles, and one single—each uniquely infused with art and atmosphere.
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The upper floors are dedicated to the private residence of the Faller family, maintaining intimacy and seclusion within the historic shell.
A double-height entrance hall greets guests with soft lighting, heirloom furniture, and curated artworks from the family collection. The ground floor integrates a lobby, lounge with reading corner, and a wine cellar designed as an immersive art space by Austrian digital artist Peter Kogler, whose mesmerizing optical patterns redefine spatial perception.
On the mezzanine level, a spa with sauna and jacuzzi offers a contemporary retreat beneath centuries-old vaults, enriched by artist Alexander Wierer’s reflections on time and impermanence. The first floor houses the breakfast room and additional guest rooms, one of which showcases Expect the Best, a vibrant installation by visual artist Petra Polli beneath a sculptural chandelier.
Materiality & Atmosphere
Material choices celebrate tactile warmth and authenticity, aligning with South Tyrol’s natural palette.
Larch and beech wood, brass detailing, and velvet upholstery define an atmosphere that feels both timeless and contemporary. The architects integrated restored Tyrolean chairs, bespoke furniture crafted in brushed larch, and custom-designed panels and headboards to bring cohesion to the interiors.
A careful study of color draws inspiration from the Alpine landscape—autumn greens, deep browns, and burnt larch reds—creating subtle tonal transitions that mirror the region’s seasonal shifts.
Lighting plays a vital role in shaping the experience: diffuse floor and wall lighting evokes intimacy in guest rooms, while suspended fixtures in communal spaces highlight the interplay between architecture and art.
Art as Architectural Dialogue
Art is not decoration here—it is the connective tissue between history, place, and people.
The project’s curatorial direction was led by Stefanie Prieth (contemporary art) and Rose Bourdon (family collection), ensuring a cohesive relationship between the old masters and new voices.
Inside the hotel, contemporary installations by Ingrid Hora, Esther Stocker, Alexander Wierer, and others reinterpret the building’s history through light, geometry, and narrative. Stocker’s “Thoughts and Planets,” for example, animates the vaulted ceilings with floating sculptures that distort perception and invite introspection.
Meanwhile, the Faller family’s private collection—spanning works from the 1600s to the mid-20th century—anchors the project in cultural continuity.
In the Patrons’ Room, portraits by Stephan Kessler (1622–1700) converse across centuries with modern landscapes by Lesley de Vries (1926–2012), creating a visual dialogue that bridges eras and sensibilities.
Through this integration of art and architecture, Lasserhaus becomes more than a hotel—it becomes a living gallery, where every wall, corridor, and vault tells a story of transformation.
Cultural Continuity & Urban Legacy
Beyond restoration, Lasserhaus stands as a model for adaptive reuse in heritage architecture.
By opening the building to public life through art, the architects have redefined its civic relevance—not as a relic of the past but as a vibrant cultural venue.
Future plans include artist residencies, exhibitions, and partnerships with local institutions to extend the project’s curatorial dialogue and ensure its evolution over time.
As architect Tiziano Vudafieri notes, “It was not just about restoring a fifteenth-century building, but giving it a new life—making it a living, breathing part of the city again.”
Lasserhaus by Vudafieri-Saverino Partners is a poetic convergence of architecture, art, and history—a modern sanctuary that honors the past while embracing the present. Through subtle material interventions, thoughtful spatial reorganization, and a deep curatorial narrative, the architects have turned this medieval residence into a cultural landmark that reflects Brixen’s dual identity: ancient and avant-garde.
This project exemplifies how architecture can act as a bridge between time periods, blending the soul of the old with the spirit of the contemporary.
