The Hotel Schatzalp in Davos, which opened in 1900 as a luxury sanatorium, has been given a new façade with the support of architecture researchers from ETH Zurich. The building was constructed using digital aids. According to a statement from ETH, the contract for implementation was awarded to local timber construction company Künzli Davos AG and Instructive Construction AG(Incon.ai), which specialises in augmented reality technology. Incon.ai is a spin-off of the ETH and is based at Technopark Zurich.
The designs for the reinterpretation were developed by a team led by Silke Langenberg, Professor of Construction Heritage and Monument Preservation at ETH Zurich, and architecture professors Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler at the ETH Department of Architecture. The task for the architectural researchers was to preserve the appearance and integrate digital technologies into traditional craftsmanship and operational processes. “Based on the design logic of the old building, we reinterpreted the balustrades,” Fabio Gramazio is quoted as saying.
Matthias Kohler sees this as a “fundamental change in the way we build”. The digital model replaces the double metre in traditional construction methods. The digital model created using augmented reality simplifies planning for tradespeople and allows people to use their dexterity and intuition. As Kohler emphasises, people retain control over the process.
The wooden balustrades on the building had become outdated and no longer met today’s safety standards, he explains. In addition, the typical appearance of the Schatzalp with the loggias attached to the south façade had been impaired by numerous changes.
