Six young tilers on the Capanna Soveltra building site

Six young tilers are working on the reconstruction of the Capanna Soveltra, in the Val di Prato. The site is open from 3 to 14 August.

The hut was destroyed by fire in October 2017. The rebuilding is coordinated by the Ceruniq association, which brings together the main floor-laying firms and the specialist companies in the sector.

The layers working on the site come from the top tier of the trade. They have taken part in the SwissSkills selections and some also have experience in international competitions behind them.

The stone comes from the valley

The material being used is natural stone quarried in the Vallemaggia. The choice ties the site to the area in which the building stands.

The hut lies at 1,534 metres, along the route of the Scalada Lónga. It serves as a regional meeting point and offers accommodation to groups and to school parties.

Its position imposes particular working conditions. The building can be reached only on foot, and materials have to be carried up or flown in by helicopter. Every delivery must therefore be planned in advance, since nothing can be obtained on site once work is under way. The stone quarried in the valley must also reach the hut's altitude by the same means.

The association presents the project as a way of joining traditional craft to the value of the territory and the promotion of young professionals. Work on an alpine building calls for attention to its setting, both in the materials and in the laying techniques.

For apprentices and young layers the experience differs from that of ordinary building sites. In a mountain building the logistics weigh as much as the execution, and the schedule depends on the weather as well.

It has not been announced when the hut will be usable again, nor which other sections remain to be completed. The August site concerns the natural stone laying, one stage of the reconstruction begun after the fire. Neither has it been stated how many people worked on the earlier sections, nor what the total cost of the project is.