If pushing individual boundaries has been mankind's endeavour since the times of Icarus, building at high altitudes — beyond 2,000 m above sea level in particular, not a strictly scientific limit, but an undoubted marker of a particularly complex environmental context — is a practice that has spread especially in recent times, with the development of tourism and technological innovation. Building at hign altitude has a twofold significance: if, on the one hand, it is an equivocal narcissistic affirmation of conquest (of a peak, or of one's own physical and mental capacities), on the other it is an admission of the fragility of human being in relation to nature, of which one remains a tiny and temporary guest. And precisely to survive this condition, beyond all romantic and emotional aspects that contact with nature entails, it is above all ingenuity to be called upon to devise settlement solutions suited to hostile environments: from the traditional and simple wooden architectures of a recent past (Chacaltaya Ski Resort), to the contemporary and more refined technologies based on hard prefabrication, effective logistical management, innovative and ecological materials and off-grid solutions, making the human presence on the peaks safer and less impactful. So whether they are huts, bivouacs, restaurants, works of art or places of culture, the architecture on the summits all tell the same story of adventure and enterprise, albeit with different languages: from constructions literally integrated into the rock (Zaha Hadid Architects) or brazenly anti-mimetic (Gentilcore and Testa), to those inspired by the genius loci (Rifugio Mollino, MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects, Archermit, Martino Gamper, Central Asian Museum Leh) or utmost minimalist experiences (Koncheto Shelter, OFIS arhitekti, Skylodge Adventure Suites).
High-altitude architecture: when design meets the mountain
12 constructions from the Alps to South America, from Utah to Tibet, tell the romantic and technological story of an adventure of human resourcefulness.
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- Chiara Testoni
- 08 August 2023
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.
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.
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.
'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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.