Approaching Silence
Völs, BZ (I)
Place
Völs, BZ (I)
Design
Paul S. Feichter, artist
Peter Kompripiotr Holzknecht, artist
Dirk Manzke, Professor Städtebau+Freiraum
Elisabeth Oberrauch, artist
Eva-Maria Schgaguler, Landschaftsarchitektin
Alois Steger, artist
Brigitte Pitscheider Watzek, photographer
Client
Municipality of Fiè allo Sciliar
Project phases
From concept to realisation
Completion
2017
Photography
Brigitte Pitscheider Watzek
Along a secluded path, between the slopes of the Sciliar massif, the forest and the reflective surface of Lake Völs, lies an unexpected site — a place where calm becomes an experience, and the landscape itself turns into a refuge for introspection. In 2017, on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of Leonhard von Völs, the Municipality of Völs commissioned the creation of a permanent space of quiet and reflection. Seven artists and designers from different disciplines — Paul S. Feichter, Peter Kompripiotr Holzknecht, Dirk Manzke, Elisabeth Oberrauch, Eva-Maria Schgaguler, Alois Steger and Brigitte Pitscheider Watzek — collaborated in a two-year process based on observation, dialogue and experimentation.
Between the Hotel Waldsee and the historic Völser Weiher inn, three designed stopping points were created. Linked by an invisible narrative thread, they form a single “place of silence”. Visitors are invited to leave behind the pace of everyday life — to walk slowly, breathe, perceive — and rediscover the hidden beauty that resides within the landscape. Born from a dialogue between contemporary art and the Alpine environment, the project offers a modest yet profound space, capable of integrating culture, nature and perception in a balanced and enduring harmony.