Given that this is the inaugural edition, we thought that the first issue of the international journal «ArchAlp» needed to be characterized by a wide angle view, taking shape as sort of veritable tour d’horizon of the alpine space. Thinking with the scientific committee of the journal, it seemed to us that a reflection on the characteristics of contemporary architectural production in the European Alpine area, starting from regionally-based analyses and interpretations, could be very important. A description of the state of the art, which in order to have scientific validity must be based on comparative interpretations, has the aim of restoring continuity and differences in the “building culture” among the various Alpine regions. From here the idea of building the central core around a series of local monographs.