Workshops Along the Ridges – A Craft Camp at Prejba Cabin

Authors’ Comment

Workshops on the Ridges – A Craft Camp at Prejba Cabin proposes the revitalization of Prejba Cabin, a landmark of mountain tourism in the Lotru Mountains and an important part of the local collective memory, by transforming it into a center dedicated to the transmission and reinterpretation of traditional crafts. The project responds to the degradation of mountain heritage and the gradual loss of traditional forms of knowledge and practice, proposing a space where they are not only preserved, but also passed on and reinterpreted through a contemporary perspective.

Located at an altitude of 1,655 meters, on the slope of Prejba Peak, the cabin is closely connected to the surrounding mountain landscape and the memory of the local community. The site analysis highlighted the importance of preserving this relationship by enhancing the view towards the peak and the existing access axis. At the same time, the steep topography, with a 15% slope, becomes the main generator of the complex, with the volumes arranged along the terrain and adapted to its natural contours rather than altering them.

The programme proposes a craft camp for young creatives, students, and tourists, organized as intensive one-month sessions from April–May through October. The four workshops dedicated to blacksmithing, woodworking, pottery, and weaving become spaces for apprenticeship, experimentation, and interaction between craftspeople, participants, and visitors. The activities extend outdoors through dedicated working platforms, allowing crafts to be practiced in the open air and transforming the creative process into an experience that is visible and accessible to the public.

The architectural approach is contemporary while drawing from elements of traditional local architecture. The complex follows a pavilion-like structure inspired by the existing cabin, from which its proportions, roof geometry, and materiality are adapted to each function. The existing cabin is preserved in its current form and accommodates reception and administration, while being complemented by an exhibition building and a restaurant. The educational area brings together classrooms and meeting rooms, a library with a reading room, and a performance hall.

The workshops and accommodation units are built using CLT modules, a system well suited to modular construction in mountainous environments, anchored to the site with screw pile foundations. The material palette is dominated by timber and fir shingles, used for both roofs and façades, as well as for the shutters. The accommodation units reinterpret the proportions and shingle patterns of the existing cabin at a smaller scale, forming a small “village” arranged radially around a central fire pit—a place for gathering and social interaction.

By bringing together heritage, education, craftsmanship, and tourism, the project proposes not only an intervention on an existing mountain cabin, but a new way of living, learning, and creating within the mountain landscape. Architecture thus becomes a mediator between the memory of the place, traditional practices, and the generations that can carry them forward.