ar+d
Architekturbüro Wimmer-Armellini	Ski lift	Hochkar, Austria	December 1999
High on an Austrian Alp, this cableway terminus sets an example to others in care and precision of creation. Click on image to view larger version in new window
The Hochkar is an 1800m mountain in the Alps near Göstling, not far to the west of Vienna, and so it is very popular for winter sports. Its cableway needed to be restored, and in nine months from May 1995, one was built between two new stations, one in the valley and the other high on the mountain, next to the old terminus. It was the mountain one which attracted our attention, with its elegant glazed machinery box poised on the solid concrete base and juxtaposed with the block of the control tower. We thought this to be an elegant solution to what is often a messy building type. Detailing brought out the contrasts between the materials, and the machinery was given mysterious presence behind the translucent walls. We were much less impressed with the valley station and its ancillary buildings, so the project could not be selected for first prize. Architect Architekturbüro Wimmer-Armellini: Ute Wimmer-Armellini and Peter Wimmer