The nest of Gypaetus barbatus—the Old World bearded vulture whose wingspan exceeds 9 feet—is a sophisticated feat of construction. Historic photographs show the original building as a whitewashed, pitch-roofed stone mass, set at 5,150 feet on one of the hairpin roads climbing to 9,050 feet. The hotel’s Fremdenbuch (the guest register) lists notable names, such as Max Planck, in 1920, fresh off his Nobel Prize. The grid also reveals a few less convincing details in the volume it wraps—notably, the quite banal partitions between rooms. Photos © Daniel Merler56The suites are among the project’s most accomplished elements, marrying contemporary spareness with the “pauper” strain of Alpine building plus Tyrolean craftsmanship, such as the chairs with heart-shaped cutouts in the backrest.