“A glittering crystal and a convincing demonstration of state of the art technology” – Holcim Awards Jury

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    Project entry 2008 Europe - "Autonomous alpine shelter, Monte Rosa hut, Zermatt, Switzerland": The new Monte Rosa hut at an altitude of 2,883m with views of the Gorner Glacier and the Matterhorn.

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    Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 Europe team (l-r) Marcel Baumgartner, Project Manager and Andrea Deplazes, Dean of Architecture, ETH Zurich, congratulated by Harry Gugger, head of the regional jury for Europe, and Markus Akermann, CEO of Holcim and Chairman of the Board of the Holcim Foundation

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    Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 Europe (l-r): Marcel Baumgartner, Project Manager and Andrea Deplazes, Dean of Architecture, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

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    Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 Europe: Andrea Deplazes, Dean of Architecture, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

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    Holcim Awards Bronze 2008 Europe: Marcel Baumgartner, Project Manager, DARCH, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

The new Monte Rosa hut at an altitude of 2,883m above sea level and surrounded by the highest peaks of the Swiss Alps is extremely inspiring not only due to its glittering crystal shape but even more with regard to its convincing demonstration of state of the art technology. On the one hand, all the façade and load-bearing elements as well as the interior partition walls are the results of computer-aided design and computer-integrated manufacturing in a way that material consumption and transport weight are reduced to an absolute minimum. In addition, this innovative production technology facilitates the construction of the various elements and therefore cuts substantially on-site building time. 

Last updated: June 26, 2008 Zurich, Switzerland

On the other hand, the technical autonomy of this building is another outstanding highlight. Far away from any public utility network, the Monte Rosa hut relies completely on its own energy production, water collection, and systems for treating solid waste and waste water. As a result the CO2 emission will be less than one third compared to the existing alpine hut, which will be dismantled afterwards. Although this project incurs high construction costs, requires the transport of all construction elements by helicopter, and has limited transferability as an entire project, its convincing achievements in terms of autonomy and use of technology received the commendation of the jury.