snøhetta designs corten steel interventions for innsbruck's nordkette mountain range

snøhetta has designed a series of ten architectural elements, which together form the ‘path of perspectives’ — a panorama trail on innsbruck’s nordkette mountain range. designed for the nordkettenbahn cable railway, the interventions seek to enhance the spectacular natural landscape. ‘using small design gestures, we highlight striking elements of the alpine landscape, adding to the experience of the dramatic mountain scenery rather than creating one eye-catching structure,’ explains patrick lüth, architect and managing director of snøhetta’s innsbruck office.

all images © christian flatscher, unless otherwise stated

the nordkette is the southernmost mountain chain in the karwendel, the largest mountain range of the northern limestone alps located just north of the tyrolean city of innsbruck. the hungerburg and nordkette funiculars bring visitors directly from the city center to the seegrube cable car station at 1,905 meters (6,250 feet) above sea level, where the 2.8-kilometer (1.7-mile) meandering panorama trail and its individual elements entice visitors to take a stroll up its 142-meter elevational change.

the viewing platform — perhaps snøhetta’s most striking addition — seems to grow out of the terrain, projecting over the cliff-edge. standing on the platform, visitors can enjoy uninterrupted views of the valley below, while a metal grate underfoot gives a sense of floating above the terrain. other interventions include different types of seating and resting areas for both large or small groups. at a slightly higher elevation, stepped wooden platforms form an amphitheater.

each of the ten elements are shaped from corten steel, a material choice that the architects say was inspired by the context and the site’s prior interventions. the path of perspectives, or ‘perspektivenweg’, adapts the existing technical structures of nordkette’s avalanche barriers, which are made of the same weathered steel. larch wood, typical for the local forests, forms its seating and reclining platforms.

the design team collaborated with professor allan janik, a wittgenstein scholar, to select quotes from austrian philosopher ludwig wittgenstein to inscribe on the new elements. the words invite visitors to take a moment and reflect, both inwardly and out over the landscape, giving a dual meaning to the path of perspectives. the project joins other nordkette architectural highlights such as the zaha hadid-designed hungerburg funicular, which has connected the city with the hungerburg since 2007.

image © innsbrucker nordkettenbahnen / quirin müller

image © innsbrucker nordkettenbahnen / quirin müller

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project info:

name: the path of perspectives / perspektivenweg
location: innsbruck, austria
design: snøhetta
partner: prof. allan janik
client: innsbrucker nordkettenbahnen
status: complete