The sweeping Dolomites mountain range in northeastern Italy has inspired a dramatic new hotel designed by architecture firm network of architecture (noa*).

The irregular, asymmetrical silhouette of the Hotel Tofana in the town of St. Kassian is designed to evoke one of the tree-lined mountain peaks that dominate the region’s Badia Valley, complete with plants lining the building's terraces and façade.

Guests can “ascend” the hotel as if it was a mountain via stairs and ramps that wind up and around the building to the summit, with the ground-floor reception area acting as “base camp”.

Meanwhile, the outer spaces merge with the interiors, with spacious windows and inter-connected balconies allowing light to penetrate deep into the interior of the building.

The natural theme continues indoors, where noa*’s interior design revolves around furniture and sofas in blue, green and brown tones “that suggest alpine meadows, biotopes, moss forests or rock caves.” Larch wood, linen fabric and natural stone walls feature predominantly, adding to the theme.

The rooms and suites are designed as hut cabins familiar among the mountaineers, skiers, snowboarders and mountain bikers who regularly travel to the Dolomites.

Leisure amenities include various lounges and restaurants, a sauna and spa with a view towards the nearby mountains and a heated outdoor pool.

An original Hotel Tofana was founded in 1933. Since 2011, it has been run by the third generation of the Frena family, Gunther and Verena, who decided to replace the small building that housed the hotel with something more dramatic. The end result is a structure conceptualised as “an explorer’s home.”

“The new design celebrates the evolutionary transformation of an originally compact building into a layered structural landscape that sustainably reflects its surroundings,” said noa* founder Lukas Rungger. “We have brought nature into the house.”

The practice’s previous projects include the nearby Hotel Hubertus, which features a cantilevering swimming pool overlooking a forest valley, and an apple-inspired hotel, spa and wellness centre in Passiria Valley.