Spiritual conversion

Divine interventions in South Tyrol

A masterpiece of South Tyrolean postwar architecture, Cusanus Academy, in Bressanone, has recently undergone a subtle transformation. Built in the 1960s and dedicated to learning and the exchange of ideas between the religious and secular worlds, its main building, the Haupthaus, originally designed by pioneering architect Othmar Barth, is a bold, concrete-and-brick structure with a double-height, vaulted concrete central space. The campus has been brought into the 21st century with a restoration and extension by architecture studio Modus, which weaved in new areas and tweaked existing ones, creating a narrative that elegantly brings all parts together. The brief called for a design that would leave the three existing buildings visually intact, while creating a new public space. The architects achieved that with a new circulation axis, a café, an underground area for services and modular conference rooms, and pockets of informal seating. modusarchitects.com

Above and right, the doubleheight, vaulted concrete space and east façade of Cusanus Academy’s Haupthaus, originally designed by Othmar Barth in the 1960s and recently renovated by South Tyrol studio Modus