Located at an altitude of 2,300 metres, the Aldo Frattini Bivouac is an unmanned, open-to-all art installation. Yet visitors will have to be motivated and skilled to reach the structure.
While its red colour and tent-like exterior might make you believe otherwise, the Aldo Frattini Bivouac is in fact an art installation. Part of the Thinking Like a Mountain – The Orobie Biennial, it is the last piece of a two-year-long artistic puzzle exploring the relationship between art, territories, and both human and “more-than-human” communities.
The bivouac is located in the municipality of Valbondione, along the Alta Via delle Orobie, and can only be reached after a six- to eight-hour hike. It stands in place of a previous 1970s shelter, the steel structure and asbestos cladding of which had become dangerous over time. Instead of simply replacing it with a ‘normal’ high mountain bivouac, director of Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo and curator of The Orobie Biennial, Lorenzo Giusti decided otherwise.
“This innovative high-altitude bivouac preserves its essential function as a shelter and emergency refuge along the Sentiero delle Orobie, overlooking the extraordinary amphitheatre dominated by the Redorta, Scais and Coca peaks”, commented Paolo Valoti, former president of CAI Bergamo (the Italian Alpine Club).
Fabric, cork, and the bare essentials
In collaboration with the Bergamo section of the Italian Alpine Club and a research and design studio led by Andrea Cassi and Michele Versaci called Ex., the Galleria d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Bergamo turned the new shelter into a piece of art and the final piece of Thinking Like a Mountain. A museum, in sorts, yet one that is free to visit for anyone and that turns those who seek refuge inside into the subjects.
The structure of the Aldo Frattini Bivouac is bright red, has a footprint of four by two metres, and offers sleeping for a maximum of nine hikers, neatly tucked away on foldable beds. The pre-fabricated unit weighs no more than 2,000 kilograms and was transported in three pieces by helicopter, before removing the ancient structure.
“There can be a colonisation of the mountain with culture. We tried the opposite, to learn from the culture of the Alps – with a respect towards the environment”, Andrea Cassi of Ex. told Wallpaper Magazine.
The materials used for the building were destined to be as flexible and adaptable as possible. The red shell is made of technical fabric by Ferrino in Turin, known for its hiking gear. The interior is lined with cork to keep hikers warm, while allowing for the material to expand and contract depending on the outdoor temperatures. Solar panels on the roof power the bare essentials: lighting and emergency outlets, just enough in case of an emergency.
While the Bivouac is open year-round, potential visitors are asked to check in with the Italian Alpine Club to check weather and trail conditions beforehand. The address is best written down so as not to forget: 46°02’27.60” N 9°55’14.90” E.
