Architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron has reframed the cable-auto station on the top of Switzerland’s Chäserrugg mountain by enveloping it within a wooden restaurant creating .
Located in a ski resort inside Switzerland’s Toggenburg area, the Chäserrugg developing stands at the peak of the mountain at an altitude of about two,260 metres. It totally surrounds the 1970s-built cable automobile station, offering a far more extensive facility for winter sports activities travelers.
Herzog & de Meuron – which also not too long ago completed a new stadium in Bordeaux – desired the developing to reference the heritage of its Alpine setting without having getting to be a pastiche.
To achieve this, the team used locally sourced spruce wood wherever achievable, with the addition of contemporary details. They also employed local craftsmen to build the numerous factors of the structure.
“We experimented with to produce a language that fits into Toggenburg, without having falling into the trap of well-known Alpine clichés,” explained architect Christine Binswanger, a single of the 5 senior partners of the firm.
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“The participation of local companies provoked a good deal of passion,” she additional. “The construction could hence also be implemented in very resource-friendly way. “
Chäserrugg is the easternmost of the seven peaks that make up the Churfirsten mountain assortment. The region had been largely inaccessible right up until 1972, when the cable automobile was installed – connecting it with Zurich and St Gallen.
A restaurant had also been in operation on the mountain prior to now, accommodated inside of the housing originally constructed for development workers.
This was demolished to make way for Herzog & de Meuron’s construction, even though the steel and concrete station was retained and concealed behind the new wooden facade.
“This project involved producing a spot that has character in each and every season and in all weather, to generate a mood for skiers who are in a hurry, for groups wishing to spend a day or two days here, but also for hikers and other people who seek peace,” mentioned Binswanger.
The finished creating is sheltered beneath a reduced-hung sloping roof, which is supported by a series of branching wooden columns.
The restaurant runs along one side of the structure and is glazed on three sides to provide panoramic views of the Alpine scenery. It functions built-in wooden seating locations and a balcony that extends out over the precipice.
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The station sits just behind, the place cable autos emerge through unusually shaped cutouts in the walls.
All of the resources used to the construct the construction were transported through cable automobile, apart from the crane, which had to be airlifted to the website by helicopter.
The project follows a recent series of modest-scale projects by Herzog & de Meuron, which is very best known for greater tasks like Miami’s Pérez Art Museum and the Beijing Olympic Stadium. The firm just lately created a trio of wooden pavilions at the Milan Expo and a biologically filtered bathing lake.
“The mountain station on the Chäserrugg is a single of the smaller projects that we dedicate ourselves to once again and once again,” said studio co-founder Pierre de Meuron.
“The courage of the building’s owners to begin a undertaking in such a spot, in which for many many years nothing has happened, and to attach excellent importance to architectural good quality, is remarkable,” he added.
Photography is by Katalin Deér.
Venture credits:
Client: Toggenburg Bergbahnen
Architect: Herzog & de Meuron – Jacques Herzog, Pierre de Meuron, Christine Binswanger
Venture staff: Michael Fischer, Beatus Kopp, Hendrik Steinigeweg, Salomé Gutscher, Roman Aebi, Frederik Bo Bojesen, Leif Buchmann, Yannick Claessens, Santiago Espitia-Berndt, Alexander Franz, Alen Guberinic, Justin Hui, Maria Krasteva, Victor Lefebvre, Severin Odermatt, Philipp Schaefle, Kaspar Stöbe, Christoph Wassmann, Freya Winkelmann
Development management: Ghisleni
HVAC engineering: Amstein + Walthert
Structural engineering: Schnetzer Puskas Ingenieure, Pirmin Jung, Schällibaum
Acoustics: Bau und Raumakustik
Building physics: Zimmermann & Leuthe
Fire safety: Amstein + Walthert
Interior consulting: Rondelli Consulting
Carpentry: Schreinerei Stolz
Electrical: Kolb Elektro
Elevators: AS Aufzüge
Roofing: Bühler Bedachungen
