A last resort

Mountain tourism (fjällturism) dates all the way back to the late 1800s in places like Åredalen. This segment has varied in popularity over the years with low points during recessions and war times. The last few years mountain tourism has increased in popularity and a lot of ski-resorts are growing rapidly. These resorts usually have a big impact on the village they are situated within in both positive and negative ways, they have historically been driving development of the local community, sometimes to a fault. As the climate is changing, ski-resorts are and will get more challenging winters that will shorten the season and in many cases cause ski-resorts to close. This will inevitably affect the villages in proximity to these resorts as many of the businesses are dependent on the tourists. This change will cause disadvantages for some locations while advantages for others. In the north the ski-resorts are in general less developed but more resilient to climate changes which could provide them with an opportunity in the future. That is also the topic of research in this thesis project - could the ski-resort in Tärnaby, Sweden emerge as one of the last snow reliable ski-resorts in Sweden and therefore have a more positive projection for the future compared to other southernly located resorts like Åre and Sälen. Because of Tärnabys history of being the home of many great skiers through history (Ingemar Stenmark, Anja Persson etc.) the resort has always been known as a resort for more experienced riders and this is an image that the resort wants to uphold. This is the architectural challenge for this thesis project, to develop a proposal that handles the complex site of the mountain and materializes the spirit and history of the resort into a building that houses the future needs for the resort.