Fanton bivouac

On 9 September the shell of the new “Fratelli fantoni” bivvy has been placed by helicopter at Maramarole Fork (2667 m. meters above sea level), by the technicians of Heliswiss International, assisted by Elifriulia, and by the volunteers of the Italian Alpine Club Section “Cadorina” from Auronzo and of the Alpine Rescue.

Here, the bivvy shell was anchored to the oblique steel frame that was previously prepared. This is a new step, maybe the most important, of the project carried out for years by Auronzo Italian Alpine Club : replace the old and ruined Fanton bivouac building, which in the sixties was a thousand meters higher.

A project, a dream, which is now coming true: the first step was a competition between ideas, born from the collaboration between the Cai of Auronzo and the Belluno Dolomiti Architecture Foundation, that has been won by the Demogo Associated Studio of Treviso, then the bivvy was placed in Marmarole fork, an extraordinary, uncontaminated, wild beauty environment.

“Setting the bivouac in Marmarole Fork, brings the project to an advanced stage” said Massimo Casagrande, president of the Italian Alpine Club di Auronzo. “this is an advanced but not definitive phase: for the usability of the bivouac some fundamental interventions are still required, such as the protective outer coating in zinc metal and the articulation of the interiors in fir and larch wood. The structure, therefore, is currently not accessible. The works will continue in the coming weeks and the full usability and therefore the usability for hikers, can take place from 2021. We plan to inaugurate the new structure in late spring – early summer of next year: the Fanton bivouac will be an incredibly suggestive base in the area of ​​the Auronzane Dolomites ».

The appearance of the bivouac designed by Studio Demogo is that of a rough-hewn volume lying on the ridge, an architecture that is strongly characterized by an inclined profile adapting itself to the orography of the Marmarole Fork. The building strong value is also in the internal spatiality, entirely organized in an ascending way along the slope, thus forming an elegant balcony pointing towards Auronzo di Cadore.

“The work faces complex technological challenges and is proposed as a project aimed to explore the research on materials at high altitudes” underlined Massimo Casagrande, vice president of the Cai di Auronzo. “The shell of the entire building was developed in a composite material that is specifically adapted to the Alpine environmental context. The technologies used made it possible to make the building very light in proportion to its size, a fundamental aspect with respect to building logistics “.