Glacier 3000’s Mountain Restaurant Will Rise From The Ashes Designed By Mario Botta
After the devastating fire that destroyed Glacier 3000's restaurant, it's now time to rebuild. This summer a new structure will be created by the famous Swiss architect Mario Botta. The building, which will also contain an alpine micro solar power plant, has been redesigned to improve the quality of customer experience and fire safety.
At the summit of Glacier 3000, workers have been laboring under difficult conditions since April, dismantling the steel structure that survived the flames and exposing the concrete pavement. "This first phase is now almost complete and the reconstruction work will begin in the next few days," says Bernhard Tschannen, CEO of the company. On this occasion, the design by architect Mario Botta was presented to the press today. While the building's external appearance will be almost identical due to building permits, the interior has been completely redesigned, with a gain of 35m2 per floor and new panoramic corner windows. Fire protection has also been improved.
A new panoramic terrace
From summer 2024, the restaurants will offer a total of 400 seats in a cozy atmosphere on two floors, with more spacious and brighter rooms and a complete separation of the premises. An innovative concept was developed for the Le 3 restaurant (formerly self-service): orders and payment are made using a QR code and the dishes are then served at the table. For Bernhard Tschannen, queuing in ski boots with a tray is a thing of the past: « We are maintaining the fast service that customers expect from such a facility, but increasing the quality of the customer experience ». In addition, a 250 m2 panoramic terrace will be created on the roof of the building, 25 m above the ground, offering a breathtaking view of the famous Peak Walk by Tissot suspension bridge,
A building with high energy efficiency
As solar power plant projects continue to grow in the Alps, Glacier 3000's vision is to focus its energy efforts on potentially improving existing infrastructure without increasing its footprint. This was achieved during the restaurant's renovation by installing more than 600 solar panels on the southwest facade and side canopies, capable of producing up to 110 KW. This can cover a large part of the restaurant's energy consumption and up to 6% of the company's total annual energy consumption. The heat generated by the ventilation of the kitchens and the operation of the cold rooms is used to produce hot water, while the building's insulation is specially designed to minimize heat loss,
The completion of a unique architectural work
Although Mario Botta withdrew from the original project in 2000 due to disagreements with the clients of the time, the Ticino architect was keen to participate in the renaissance of this building: « I wanted to renew the appearance of the building and give it an even stronger and more resistant give character. This should strengthen the signal image of the Teufelsgabel, which has shaped the identity of this place over the last 20 years ». After other tourist buildings in the mountains, such as on Monte Generoso in 2017 (Fiore di Pietra), the reconstruction of the restaurant on Glacier 3000 is a special work in the career of the Ticino artist, who celebrated his 80th birthday in April .
The results of the Vaud public prosecutor's investigation into the cause of the fire are not yet known.
