Gütsch, Andermatt, Switzerland
Opened in late December 2019, the restaurant building in Gütsch is situated at the interchange of two cable car lines, 2,362m above sea level. The building is home to two restaurants, The Japanese by The Chedi Andermatt and The Gütsch by Markus Neff. To accommodate, the building is split into three volumes. One for each restaurant, and one for the kitchen, with additional amenity spaces and storage in the basement level.
The construction was led by Studio Seilern Architects, a London-based creative practice established by Christina Seilern. The practice produces exceptional architecture across multiple building sizes, typologies and locations. This includes Andermatt, the home of the restaurant building. A mountain village situated in the center of the Saint-Gotthard Massif, Andermatt has seen substantial growth in the form of hotels, chalets, apartments and a Scottish-style 18-hole golf course. Advertised as an alternative to popular ski resort destinations nearby, the village is slowly becoming a year-round luxury travel destination. Due to Andermatt’s severe weather, the construction process had to be broken down into two summer seasons. The time available to build was limited and some materials had to be transported to the site by helicopter. The initial summer season saw the creation of the basement concrete structure, and the second summer season involved placing the prefabricated timber walls and beams to complete the process.
Altogether, the building holds 110 indoor seats and 190 outdoor seats with visitors having a clear view of the surrounding mountains through terrace decks and large, glass windows. The architects found inspiration from art pieces such as “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich and "Horta de Ebro" by Manolo Valdez. Friedrich’s painting inspired the architects on how to capture the awesomeness of the mountain’s altitude. Valdez’s sculpture provided context on how clusters of stone, or buildings, could be used in a mountainous landscape. The building’s large balconies are attached to anchoring stone volumes. This plays off a sense of lightness and invites visitors to feel as though they’re floating over the landscape, reflecting the feeling of reaching the peak of a climb.
Since the restaurant building is set on a steep incline, many precautions were taken during the design and construction. To adapt to the steepness of the site, solid stone volumes, like the ones that anchor the balconies, are anchored into the ground. In addition to this, the base of the building is made of concrete foundations and base. “The roof structure is unique to each volume and follows the diagonal slope of the buildings,” says Studio Seilern Architects. Indoors, a series of beams stretch across each volume and serve as a defining characteristic of each dining space. On the exterior, the building is covered in natural stone, typical for Swiss buildings at this altitude. The stone helps the buildings weather excessive wind, frost, ice and snow. “We surveyed the local stone and masonry walls built by the army over the years and wanted to adopt the same language, of a material sourced from the site, as if it was always meant to be there,” mentions Studio Seilern Architects.
These thoughtful exterior touches carry into the interior. With dining rooms covered in tasteful wood planks, beams and minimalist-inspired furnishings, visitors can relax in the building’s cozy atmosphere while taking in views of the surrounding mountains.
