The project contains the design of four stations along the cable railway tracks leading up to Innsbruck’s northern chain of mountains. Adaptation to the specific site conditions in various altitudes while articulating a coherent overall architectural language is critical to this design approach. Two contrasting elements “Shell & Shadow” generate each station’s spatial quality. A lightweight organic roof structure floats on top of a concrete plinth. The artificial landscape functions as a relief in which various movements and circulations are inscribed. Looking at the Roof Shell’s fluid shapes and soft contours, one might be reminded on natural phenomena such as glacier movements.

New production methods like CNC milling and thermoforming guarantee a very precise and automatic translation of the computer generated design into the built structure. The resulting aesthetics might be reminiscent of streamlined Industrial Design pieces (Car Bodies, Aeroplane Wings, Yachts etc.). Each station has its context, its topography, its altitude, its movements. The track’s inclination and ratios are dominant technical parameters. A high degree of flexibility enables the shell structures to adjust to these various parameters while still being part of the same formal family. The concept of lightness is explored. Large cantilevers and small touch down areas underline a floating appearance of the shells.