Location | Pilatus Kulm, Alpnach OW |
Client | PILATUS BAHNEN AG, KRIENS |
Commission | Competition on invitation 2008 |
Planning | 2008–2010 |
Construction | 2010–2011 |
Architects | Graber & Steiger Architekten, Project Architect: Philip Käslin |
Consultants | Construction manager: Jürg Gabthuler, Structural engineer: Dr. Schwartz Consulting, Cost management: Büro für Bauökonomie, Façade engineering: Metallprojekt GmbH |
Photographer | D.M. Wehrli |
The impressive, crystalline silhouette of the Pilatus massif was integrated into the design for the panorama gallery and developed further in an architectural form. The new structure is subtly fitted into the Alpine terrain and develops between existing buildings and striking rocky outcrops into an artificial topography. The polygonal, meandering ground plan and the gentle cross-sectional modulation are spatial strategies that evoke gentle transitions between the developed and undeveloped landscape. The polygonal connecting section choreographs a series of spectacular perspectives and breath-taking viewpoints, while also acting as a perceptive amplifier that stages the reference to the landscape to the fullest extent. The underlying crystalline theme of the volumetrics is also reflected in the structure, construction and materialisation, and is based on a hybrid steel and concrete composite system.
Graber & Steiger Architects are present through a collage by Niklaus Graber in the exhibition "100 EXPERIMENTS – Inspiration in Design Processs“. The hosting Aedes Architecture Forum states: Inspiration is a driving force in creative design processes. In architecture, it provides important impulses for the development of concepts and approaches, often in unexpected and unforeseeable ways. Latvian designer Anna Butele, of studio Annvil in Riga explores the notion of inspiration in a levitating installation: 100 works materialize from a collaborative experimental project. Drawings, graphics, photographs, and models by renowned architects from 28 countries form a chain—each contribution is a reaction inspired by the previous work. Personal statements by the architects themselves frame the exhibition installation, allowing the audience to immerse itself in the inspirational impulses essential to creative work processes.
'100 EXPERIMENTS – Inspiration in Design Processs'
17 August 2019 – 26 September 2019, Aedes Architekturforum Berlin
16 August 2019, 6pm, Aedes Architekturforum Berlin