Architecture

Impressive stone walls, small recessed windows and typical sgraffiti artwork: features which an authentic Engadin house must display and which have fashioned the villagescape of places such as Zuoz and La Punt for centuries.
 
The Engadin farmer once had everything he owned under one wide gable roof: dwelling, cattle shed, hay barn, cellar, granary and covered forecourt. The entrance to the house led through an artistically decorated main door into the Sulèr, the front hall. This served as a storage room and workroom, even as a dining room in summer. Going up a few steps, you entered the Stüva – a living room usually clad in stone pine and the showpiece of every Engadin house.
 
Another eye-catching feature is sgraffiti – creative decorative artwork on the outside walls of the house.

The artistic ornamentation is scratched out of the still-wet rendering It comes into its own with the light-dark contrast between the two rendering colours. This scratching technique originally came from Italy (sgraffiare is Italian for scratch), brought to the Upper Engadin by migrant workers as early as the 16th century. It is still practiced here today.

St. Moritz as an urban contrast

Typical Engadin-style architecture is found less often in St. Moritz than in the surrounding villages. Two urban architectural gems have been created in recent years with the Chesa Futura and The Murezzan complex by British architect Lord Norman Foster. 

Further outstanding buildings, such as the Serletta parking garage, have also been added. The mixture of tradition and progress, Zeitgeist and nostalgia can be sensed in every lane and at every corner. It is this that makes St. Moritz truly unique.