07 Nov 2018
A view from on high: Herzog & de Meuron announce mountain station facelift
BY Andrew Manns
Swiss architecture studio Herzog & de Meuron have unveiled their plans to redesign the Klein Titlis, a 50-year-old mountaintop observatory station in Switzerland.
The firm’s plan – dubbed Titlis 3020 – will see the current structure gain a new antenna tower and expanded gondola station in addition to an underground tunnel which will offer visitors a close-up glimpse of the glacier’s inner 'heart'.
Other amenities and facilities will include an information centre, bar, and lobby as well as restaurants and souvenir shops.
Suggesting that the present building had been built to be purely functional – without "any architectural ambitions" – Herzog & de Meuron explained that their updated rendition would "do justice to the breathtaking landscape" by imitating the ways in which modern cities are designed.
"There is no city in Switzerland without landscape," they remarked, "but neither is there any landscape without urban life."
To bring their plans to fruition, the team will collaborate with a group of local consultants, including Architektur & Baumanagement – who will serve as the project’s executive architects – and Schnetzer Puskas AG, who will provide structural engineering insights.
The last phase of construction is scheduled to conclude in Spring 2019.
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