Is the Patscherkofelbahn a public place? Or merely infrastructure? Is it part of the journey to a place of recreation? What benefit can a cable car bring to a place in times that are difficult for ski tourism? What can it do for a place beyond its function as a cable car? How can we think about and design nature and technology, functionality and poetry, economy and elegance together?
We believe that the Patscherkofel, as Innsbruck’s ‘home mountain’, will remain an important part of Innsbruck’s identity in the future. However, even a place with a long tradition must be rethought and redesigned again and again in order to preserve and strengthen this identity. On the one hand, of course, this is about an architecture that is inviting and striking enough to imprint itself on the visual memory of the people of Innsbruck; on the other hand, it is naturally also about flexible space for new programmes, alternative uses, changing user habits and spatial planning considerations. Our approach seeks to offer a solution that does justice to each station individually, that is equally attractive to summer and winter visitors, and that at the same time achieves a strong image of the ‘Patscherkofelbahn’ as a whole. This image, however, is based not on iconographic architecture but on a precise analysis of place and functional processes, paired with a love of detail and well-crafted materials.
The three stations each have their own character on the way from valley to mountain. The aim is to accompany guests from the urban to the alpine realm and to make this transition tangible in the architecture.
Valley station
The valley station is already visible from the road as a public place: you park or get off the bus, already see people walking about in sportswear, climb a generous staircase and there, in a kind of ‘station concourse’, have access to the various uses.
Middle station
The middle station is actually the least noticed station of the ensemble. Normally invisible, it does its duty as a purely technical building. We decided to make the middle station visible by arranging the cabin storage vertically rather than horizontally. This small additional effort not only makes the middle station accessible from both sides (from the Olympic run and the family run), but also suddenly turns it into a striking and visible building. In addition, this creates a wonderful viewing platform that makes the middle station an attractive destination for hikers too.
Mountain station
The mountain station is the destination of the cable car. You glide upwards, enjoy the wonderful view on the way up, and look forward to finally getting out into the fresh air. That is why we believe the mountain station should be as minimal as possible. We therefore separate the cable car area from the guest area, so that when you arrive at the top you are immediately in nature. Between the cable car exit and the hut there is a gathering space and terrace, the starting point into the recreational landscape of the Patscherkofel, which offers simple orientation for all visitors.
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