Restaurant Gütsch

Location: Andermatt, Switzerland
Scope: Restaurant
Budget: Confidential
Completion Date: 2019
Client: Orascom Development / Andermatt Swiss Alps
Architect: Studio Seilern Architects
Local Architect: Siebzehn13 Architekten
Structural Engineer: Holzprojekt / IUB Engineering
Services Engineer: EWA / Q&Q
Visualizations: Panoptikon

Restaurant Gütsch is at the heart of the new ski region of Andermatt in the Swiss Alps, situated on top of the mountain at the arrival point of three cable car lines. A first-class gourmet restaurant, attracting both daytime skiers and dinner guests from the valley based Grand Hotels, the challenge of this project was to create a design that caters for both client groups, developing two separate restaurants under the same roof.

The project offered the opportunity to work in a dramatic site at a 2300m altitude, on top of the Alps. Our architecture wanted to create a landmark that is as robust as the dramatic setting of its landscape. The new restaurant has been designed as a contemporary “hameau”, a Swiss hamlet, where a collection of smaller buildings create a harmonious whole. 

The project took inspiration from the carved stone sculpture Horta de Ebro by Manolo Valdez.  

Made out of local stone and reflecting the silhouette of vernacular Swiss villages, Restaurant Gütsch responds both to the aesthetic and the climatic challenges of this unique site. Wide openings offer panoramic views over the valley of Andermatt.  

Short construction phases and the difficult access to the site required us to develop prefabricated system of modules, which were mounted in situ.

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