Emergency mountain shelters, which are known also as bivouacs, offer visitors of the highlands a place to take refuge where there are no other options and offer an intermediate starting or resting point for strenuous climbing and hiking tours. The modern design of alpine bivouacs presents a challenge to architects, who must consider extreme natural conditions. The vulnerability of the natural environment requires restrained sizing with simple design solutions and construction details. The logic behind installing bivouacs in remote locations in a vulnerable natural space is to ensure that the bivouacs have as little accessibility and visibility as necessary so that the protection of the mountain environment as well as the safety of mountaineers can be assured. The study’s emphasis was on identifying the spatial properties that define bivouacs with the parameters of placement, according to their basic rescue functions, and respecting the natural characteristics and values of the space. In the study cases, the characteristics of architecture, the characteristics of the space, and the influence of bivouacs on this space were questioned and quantified via GIS analysis. As part of the study, a survey was conducted with members of the Alpine Association of Slovenia. The results are followed with a discussion on the spatial guidelines for the placement and architectural design of bivouacs in a natural alpine environment.