DE - Zeno Bampi
Trusted architect of Gasthof Kohlern
For 30 years now, Zeno Bampi has been the trusted and principal architect at Kohlern. Among his works is the design of the Kohlern infinity pool.
His approach to sustainable building is primarily and necessarily about engaging with the existing structures, followed by finding a balance between academic reasoning and popular acceptance. Bampi works exclusively in South Tyrol and Trentino, regions he knows, understands, and loves deeply.
He studied in Florence, and immediately after completing his doctorate in 1979, he started his own practice. For his first projects, a colleague had to lend him his professional stamp, as nothing was to prevent him from pursuing his freelance career, which initially began in partnership with Christoph Mayr-Fingerle. In forty years of active professional practice, Zeno Bampi has created a significant body of work, including examples of various building typologies, but above all, numerous hospitality buildings. It almost seems as though the architect finds a particular challenge in this category, as he must provide a restaurant or hotel guest with an immediately perceptible and harmonious atmosphere for their short stay!
What, fortunately, cannot be expected from him: Zeno Bampi has not dotted the South Tyrolean landscape with avant-garde architectural styles, no harsh modernism to make a name for himself as an architect, and no "Bilbao effect" to encourage intriguing business trips for journalists writing theoretical pieces. Bampi builds in a contemporary, but never placeless, manner.