What was your reaction to this project when you were first approached?
I was excited to work once more with Jakob Falkner on such an interesting and challenging project.
What were the most important architectural elements you wanted to include?
I wanted to realise a building with imposing architecture, able to fit in the natural surroundings and to harmonise with the architectural ensemble on the peak.
From the beginning, establishing visual connections to the locations used in Spectre was essential to the design process: the Gletscherstraße road, the ice Q restaurant and the cable car.
The building had to represent the Bond brand, so we looked for inspiration in the work of production designer Ken Adam, and we designed a Bond environment able to immerse visitors in the world of 007.
Besides focusing on the spatial development, significant consideration was given to the choice of materials, as they needed embody Bond’s iconic film sets. The decision to avoid heating and air conditioning was taken early on, in order to experience the extreme climate conditions of high altitudes in the inner spaces.
How did you work with the natural surroundings?
The permanently frozen ground at 3,040-metres elevation, geological fault lines and the exposed location on the peak ridge created huge challenges, but I’m used to designing and building in extreme locations like this.
We designed and constructed the building within the summit of the Gaislachkogl mountaintop, and the architecture complements the mountain panorama. The building is stabilised at 1ºC, so it does not affect the permafrost.
How did you work to incorporate the design alongside the existing building?
The geological situation inspired different alternatives. Early studies featuring spectacular approaches near the cable-car station turned out to be unsuitable for the existing structures at the summit.
Eventually, the themes “inside the mountain” and “iceberg principle” were selected to inspire the final design.
We finally designed seven free-shaped architectural concrete elements, connected by ramps and embedded into the mountain.
What were the unique challenges of designing this visitor experience?
The unique thing about designing 007 ELEMENTS has been the close cooperation process with Neal Callow and Tino Schaedler who created the interior experience; the architectural outcome and the exhibition contents are the result of a tailor-made collaboration.
The location, altitude, the ever-changing weather conditions, with early snow in September 2017 were truly challenging.