Tana delle Marmotte by Studio associato Officina82

The Marmots’ Den is a subterranean installation designed by Officina82 for Skyway Monte Bianco, located at the intermediate Pavillon Station at an altitude of 2.173 meters. Conceived as an experiential space for children and young visitors, the project combines play and education through a minimal architecture fully integrated into the Alpine landscape and entirely reversible.

Access is provided through two side tunnels, designed respectively for adults and children. The pathway unfolds within three underground corten steel volumes that host an interior entirely made of wood, with a sequence of 40 mm spruced CLT panels horizontally cut to form a soft evoking the marmots’ burrows and recreating their habitat in the form of an architectural narrative. A staircase carved directly out of the wooden curves leads to a secondary tunnel, ending in a small transparent porthole that allows children to “surface” outside, simulating the animal’s lookout from its burrow.

The result is a small architectural device capable of transforming an educational experience into a coherent narrative space, where scale, material, and storytelling naturally come together.