Following the Hotel Castell in Zuoz, which is being rebuilt by UNStudio, the owners of Schatzalp have also tried to modernize their 100-year-old establishment.
Now the old hotels in the ski resorts of Switzerland are going through hard days: guests visit them only during the season, and even then the maintenance of the complexes built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is very expensive. Therefore, the idea of reconstruction carried out by a world-famous architect seems to be the only way out for the administration. On the one hand, this is an advertisement for the hotel all over the world, on the other hand, it is an opportunity to complement the traditional ensemble with modern elements, such as a fitness center and a conference room, which would attract people to the hotel in the summer.
But the owners of Schatzalp chose a more original path. A tower with additional rooms and apartments will be built next to the existing building, an architectural type that is unusual for the Alps and therefore has already attracted criticism.
They explained their decision by the fact that in this way the building would take up a minimum of space and would be erected on a site already occupied by ancillary structures. Thus, the damage caused by construction to the environment will be reduced. The architects have just begun work on the project, but it is already clear that the tower will not be a crystalline monolith: its surface will be indented with balconies and terraces, which will give guests and residents the opportunity to enjoy views of the mountains, equally wonderful from any side. Even the option of using a snowflake motif for the building plan was considered. Thanks to this, the building will better fit into the natural environment.
In addition to additional rooms, the tower is planned to accommodate one or more restaurants and a conference hall.
There will also be improved communication with Davos, located below the slope: the cable car stations below and above will be expanded, the road itself will be reconstructed.
