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High-altitude architecture: when design meets the mountain
Chacaltaya Ski Resort, La Paz, Bolivia (5,375 metres above sea level)
At 5,375 metres above sea level, the Chacaltaya Ski Resort held the record as the highest ski resort in the world for decades. With the melting of the glacier in the early 2000s, the resort was gradually abandoned; today, the restaurant — recognised by the Guinness Book of Records — in the building adjoining the main body of wood and stone, from which an impressive panorama can be admired, remains in operation.
Chacaltaya Ski Resort, La Paz, Bolivia (5,375 metres above sea level)
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Archermit, Ranwu Lake International Self-drive Tour and Recreational Vehicle Campsite, Lare Village, Chamdo, Tibet (China) 2017 (approx. 3,697 m a.s.l.)
The complex, located along the scenic Route 318 near Lake Ranwu — the largest lake in eastern Tibet — includes a service centre, hotel, bar, an exhibition and sales centre for Tibetan specialities, and parking spaces for those who accept the challenge of venturing into a spectacular place with extreme climatic conditions. The buildings, with their simple and essential volumes, are made of highly weather-resistant materials: from steel in the structures to white cement fibre panels, weathering steel and local pebbles in the cladding.
Archermit, Ranwu Lake International Self-drive Tour and Recreational Vehicle Campsite, Lare Village, Chamdo, Tibet (China) 2017 (approx. 3,697 m a.s.l.)
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Tibet Heritage Fund, Central Asian Museum, Leh, Ladakh, India 2015 (3,500 m a.s.l.)
With its square mass and flat top crowned by a wooden gallery reminiscent of Himalayan fortified towers, the contemporary building inserted into the historic fabric of the city is an architectural compendium of styles, construction techniques and craftsmanship methods from the vast Central Asian area, as well as an indispensable cultural landmark in an area of high geo-political tensions.
Tibet Heritage Fund, Central Asian Museum, Leh, Ladakh, India 2015 (3,500 m a.s.l.)
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Olafur Eliasson, 'Our glacial perspectives', Granwand, South Tyrol 2020 (3,000 m a.s.l.)
'Our glacial perspectives', commissioned by the Talking Water Society — a platform for reflection and exchange on the topic of water resources — is a permanent public artwork located on Mount Grawand. The intervention winds its way 410 metres along the mountain ridge: nine metal arches — corresponding to the duration of the Earth's ice ages — mark the path leading to the main installation consisting of steel and glass rings, inside of which — as in an optical device — the viewer can read the path of the sun.
Olafur Eliasson, 'Our glacial perspectives', Granwand, South Tyrol 2020 (3,000 m a.s.l.)
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Skylodge Adventure Suites, Cuzco, Peru (approx. 3,000 m a.s.l.)
The octagonal, transparent capsules, set into the mountainside and literally suspended in the void, are inspired by condor nests and offer a 360° perspective of the Sacred Valley. The lodgings, accommodating up to 8 people each, feature a lightweight and extreme-level weatherproof structure made of aerospace-grade aluminium and polycarbonate.
Skylodge Adventure Suites, Cuzco, Peru (approx. 3,000 m a.s.l.)
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Luca Gentilcore and Stefano Testa, Bivacco Gervasutti, Courmayeur, Aosta, Italy 2011 (2,835m a.s.l.)
The new bivouac replaces a historic one dedicated to the famous mountaineer from Turin and originally prefabricated in wood. With the shape — bletantly antimimetic — of a telescope embedded in the mountain, or of an aeroplane fuselage, the entirely prefabricated modular construction, characterised by a composite sandwich shell, is designed to withstand extreme climatic conditions; inside, the birch-wood-clad environment can warmly welcome up to 12 talented mountaineers.
Luca Gentilcore and Stefano Testa, Bivacco Gervasutti, Courmayeur, Aosta, Italy 2011 (2,835m a.s.l.)
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Koncheto Shelter, Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria 2018 (2,760 m a.s.l.)
Situated along an impassable path between the peaks of Bayuvi Dupki and Banski Suhodol, this sheet metal shelter – which replaces its wooden predecessor - is anchored with tie-rods to the rocks to prevent the small but essential shelter structure from being blown away by the wind.
Koncheto Shelter, Pirin Mountain, Bulgaria 2018 (2,760 m a.s.l.)
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MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, Summit Horizon Neighbourhood, Wasatch Mountains, Utah, USA 2019 (approx. 2,700 m a.s.l.)
The intervention is conceived as part of the "Summit Series", an ambitious project aimed at promoting an ideal community of investors, intellectuals, artists and activists united by the values of philanthropy, environmental sustainability, innovation and creativity. The "new town" in the Wasatch Mountains consists of a library, a lodge and twenty-six dwellings of various types grouped around communal courtyards, with gabled volumes clad in cedar planks and suspended on metal structures.
MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, Summit Horizon Neighbourhood, Wasatch Mountains, Utah, USA 2019 (approx. 2,700 m a.s.l.)
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Zaha Hadid Architects, MMM Corones, Kronplatz, Bolzano, Italy 2015 (2.2.75 m a.s.l.)
The complex is part of the Messner Mountain Museum, a circuit of six museums (Firmiano, Juval, Ortles, Dolomites, Ripa and Corones) spread throughout the Alpine region and dedicated to the relationship between man and the mountain: the building, almost entirely underground, emerges on the outside with fluid and sculptural volumes in cement and glass that seem to be a continuation of the granite rocks and offer spectacular viewpoints over the Dolomites.
Photo Ordercrazy from CCsearch
Zaha Hadid Architects, MMM Corones, Kronplatz, Bolzano, Italy 2015 (2.2.75 m a.s.l.)
Foto ErWin from CCsearch
Martino Gamper, AlpiNN, Plan de Corones, Bolzano, Italy 2019 (2,275 m a.s.l.)
A minimalist, light structure floating on emptiness and reinterpreting the warmth of the alpine pastures in the interior: this is how the South Tyrolean-born designer conceived this starred restaurant, where the wood used as the main material — from the parquet to the furnishings — and the brushstrokes of bright colours offer an elegant, convivial atmosphere with a breathtaking view of the majestic surrounding nature
Martino Gamper, AlpiNN, Plan de Corones, Bolzano, Italy 2019 (2,275 m a.s.l.)
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OFIS arhitekti, Winter Cabin, Kanin Mountain, Slovenia 2016 (2,270 m a.s.l.)
The small, compact volume with a prefabricated structure made of cross-laminated timber panels and aluminium cladding is anchored to the rock by a set of tie rods and defies gravity by projecting with ajn impresssive overhang into the void.
OFIS arhitekti, Winter Cabin, Kanin Mountain, Slovenia 2016 (2,270 m a.s.l.)
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Rifugio Mollino, Gressoney-Saint-Jean, Aosta, Italy 2014 (2,059 m a.s.l.)
The hut, promoted by the Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic of Turin, was built on the model of Carlo Mollino's unfinished project of the "Casa Capriata" for the 10th Milan Triennale (1954): a suspended structure that reinterpreted the building tradition of the upper Gressoney Valley and explored innovative materials and techniques. Seventy years later, the work highlights the relevance of the original project as a manifesto of an eco-sustainable architecture that is strongly representative of the spirit of the place.
