Wildspitzbahn

Austria’s highest cable car mountain terminal is located 3,429 metres above sea level. The obsolete Wildspitzbahn cable car facility has been completely overhauled and has re-opened with a new restaurant.

Here, the unique views of the Alps form the point of departure for all considerations in regard to the choice of our architecture and design vocabulary. The design we have chosen emerged from the given natural conditions and issues of technical feasibility.

Minimal contact areas with the ground, a glacier tongue, precipitous mountainsides, the extreme altitude as well as the corresponding exposure to sunlight, wind and rarefied air severely restricted the design options available. A steel and aluminium structure placed upon the existing foundations forms the basis for a design which meets visual require-ments on the one hand and withstands prevailing weather conditions on the other. Con-sequently, the structure blends into the world of forms which exist throughout the year in the unique “snow architecture” created by nature. The intention is for the building to keep a low profile wherever the site makes this possible. Given the sheer elemental force and power of the natural landscape, the aim is to avoid creating an impression of ostentatious presumptuousness.

Client
Pitztaler Gletscherbahn GmbH & Co KG, AT, St. Leonhard im Pitztal

Architect
Baumschlager Hutter ZT GmbH, AT, Dornbirn

Photos
Marc Lins