Zaha Hadid's mountain museum at the top of Alpine peak Mount Kronplatz is captured in these new images by British photography duo Hufton + Crow (+ slideshow).
Hadid – who hit the headlines this week after a radio interview went sour – designed the Messner Mountain Museum in northern Italy for Reinhold Messner. It is the last in a series of six Alpine museums built by the renowned climber.
Completed in July, the building comprises three large volumes that appear to burst through the rockface, each featuring softly curved forms made from glass-reinforced fibre concrete.
Inside, objects, images and tools are displayed in underground galleries, telling the story of Messner's life as a mountaineer. There is also a viewing platform cantilevered over a valley, offering a view of the Ortler mountain range.
"The idea [is] that visitors can descend into the mountain to explore its caverns and grottos, before emerging through the mountain wall on the other side, out onto the overhanging terrace with its spectacular, panoramic views from Zillertal Alps in the north to the Dolomites and South Tyrol," said Hadid at the time of the opening.
Messner Mountain Museum was one of the buildings mentioned by the Royal Institute of British Architects when it this week named Hadid as the 2016 recipient of the Royal Gold Medal for architecture.
Following the announcement, Hadid appeared on a radio interview for BBC Radio 4 but cut it short following a series of accusations regarding her Qatar World Cup and Tokyo 2020 Olympic stadium projects. The BBC has since apologised to the architect.
Photography is by Hufton + Crow. Read more about the duo in our recent interview.