Mountain hideaway hidden inside a concrete boulder in the Alps
Swiss studio Bureau A has concealed a wooden cabin inside an artificial rock and transported it to a remote site in the Swiss Alps.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_10.jpg)
Bureau A, a studio led by architects Leopold Banchini and Daniel Zamarbide, designed the mountain shelter to pay tribute to the central character in the novel Derborence by Swiss writer Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_9.jpg)
In the story, a shepherd named Antoine becomes trapped amongst rocks after a landslide, and survives there for seven weeks before finding his way home. The structure is named Antoine after him.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_11.jpg)
"The mountains have the power to call for feelings of fascination and fear at the same time," said the architects. "Switzerland has a strong tradition of observing the Alps, living with them, hiding inside them."
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_8.jpg)
The shelter comprises a simple wooden cabin, encased within a concrete shell with the form of a huge rock. The interior is only revealed by a pair of small windows and a recessed doorway.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_4.jpg)
Inside, the knotty timber has been left exposed on walls, floors and ceilings. Flaps fold down from the walls to create seating, a table and a bed, so that one person can stay comfortably inside.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_5.jpg)
"Antoine creates an Alpine shelter, a precarious 'Existenzminimum' somewhat subversive in its use where one can freely enter and hide," said the architects, whose past projects include a pavilion made from recycled windows and a performance space on a tricycle.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_3.jpg)
"It contains the very basic architectural elements – fireplace, bed, table, stool, window – but demands to the visitor some risk taking, as the rock hangs literally on the rock fall field," they added.
![Antoine by Bureau A](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2014/12/Antoine-by-Bureau-A_dezeen_468_12.jpg)
The project was commissioned to host artist residencies for a programme run by the Verbier 3d Foundation. It was built by hand in a mountain village and transported to the site of the back of a lorry.
Photography is by Dylan Perrenoud.
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