Larch-clad chalet in the Tyrolean Alps
A family chalet at 1,400 metres, clad in vertical larch boards that will silver gracefully in the mountain sun.
- Location
- Tyrol, Austria
- Timber
- European larch
- Scope
- 38 m³ of cladding, beams and decking
- Year
- 2025
The brief
The builders needed cladding that could take snow, strong sun and decades of mountain weather without paint. They also wanted the boards to match closely in colour and growth rings, so the facade would read as one calm surface.
The timber
We selected slow-grown European larch from high-altitude stands in the Alps, where narrow growth rings make the wood dense and naturally resistant. The boards were air-dried for a season, kiln-dried to 16% and machined into a tongue-and-groove profile in our workshop, together with the glulam beams for the roof.
The result
Thirty-eight cubic metres arrived on site in two deliveries, numbered by elevation so the carpenters could fit each wall in order. Within a few summers the larch will turn a soft silver grey, which is exactly what the owners asked for.
