Architectures and artifacts for farming

The issue of rural architecture is finally being raised in the architectural debate, especially in the Alps. Even if most large buildings for livestock farming are not considered a kind of architecture today, many remarkable projects were realized in the Alps in the last decades. The scales of the interventions differ greatly, but some elements, like the attention to detail, the merging of different scales, the focus on the cultural context, and construction have often been taken into consideration. Through a series of projects, we examine the strategies and solutions applied by architects taking into account the local specificities and cultural backgrounds. Perhaps precisely because of their very peculiar needs and functional programs some projects are interesting fields of experimentation we can look at, reflecting on contemporary architecture. Thus, by analysing the architecture for livestock farming in the Alps we may consider some of the emerging topics of our times with great clarity and strength.