Like any great art, architecture is supposed to evoke some kind of emotion in you – positive or negative, it really doesn’t matter. It’s supposed to make you ask yourself “What is that? How did it get there? Is that even possible to build? Sometimes, the point of the architecture isn’t even the building itself, but rather the way it enhances and elevates the experience of the place it occupies.

Right now, a project that fits that very description is being constructed in the heart of the Swiss Alps, 3,000 metres above sea level on the summit of the legendary ski mountain of Titlis, towering above the town of Engelberg in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

Built in 1992, the Titlis Rotair made history as the world’s first revolving aerial tram. It makes a full 360-degree turn on its journey from Stand to the summit of the mountain. The ride is a spectacular one, passing over the dramatic Steinberg glacier before presenting a magical view of the surrounding mountain peaks and the Swiss Plateau.

After all – and despite the quality of the snow and the skiing – the top of Titlis is Engelberg’s star attraction. However, it has become undeniable that the top station has seen better days and is far too small to accommodate the ever-growing number of visitors. On top of that, it’s rather plain, and lacks that special something that would make it stand out and become a talking point in its own right.

After the base station was reconstructed in 2015, and a gondola was installed to take skiers and visitors straight from the valley to the Stand mid station, the time has come to upgrade the summit station and bring it into a new era.

Engelberg, and Mt Titlis in particular, rose to fame in the early 2000s as one of the world’s premier spots for freeride skiing and snowboarding, and began to draw an eclectic, international crowd seeking to explore the massive terrain and the rich, annual, snowfall.

At the base station, these skiers and snowboarders, clad in technical gear from head to toe, rub shoulders with sightseeing tourists dressed in street clothing. The first group chases untracked snow all over the world, while the latter group might never even have seen snow before.

A large portion of them happen to be visitors from India, attracted here by the frequent featuring of Switzerland’s scenery in blockbuster movies from the entertainment behemoth of Bollywood. There, snowy mountains have always been a popular setting for romantic scenes and love songs, as, according to Hindu myth, the mountains are a supernatural place, where the immortals indulge in love and lust. The same might, admittedly, be said of us mortals and skiers.

For the snow gliding crowd, the top station is merely a transit point, and occasionally a food stop, and their priority is for it to be as efficient as possible. For the sightseeing crowd, however, the top station is the very destination for their trip, the definite highlight.

In the spring of 2023, construction begun on what has come to be known as the Titlis Project, in the course of which the current top station is to be replaced by a spectacular new building made of steel and glass, which has been designed to be both more attractive to visit and better suited for the future.

The blueprints for the project have been produced by the renowned Swiss architecture firm Herzog & de Meuron of Basel. They are famous all over the world for projects such as the Tate Modern in London and the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing. Just like their past work, the new top station will be a minimalistic structure that’s designed to co-exist harmoniously with the mountain environment.

The top station is undoubtedly the main attraction, but the Titlis Project consists of three different parts, which are all major undertakings in their own right.

First, we have the Titlis Connect tram. This will run alongside the Rotair from Stand, but end just below the current top station, to which it will be connected by an underground tunnel. The Connect is a single-line tram, which will have lower capacity than the more commonly used dual ones. Initially, it will be used to transport materials needed for the construction of the top project. Starting in 2026, however, it will open for passengers and make it possible to access the Titlis peak even when the Rotair is closed for maintenance.

Second, we have the Titlis Tower, which is scheduled to be completed during 2026. Originally constructed in the 1980s by the Swiss postal service, this 50-metre beam antenna tower is to be transformed into a cross-shaped structure as two horizontal, glazed steel volumes are inserted into the existing structure. The tower will host a restaurant, a bar, and exhibition spaces, and become a visitor attraction in its own right, offering stunning panoramic views of the Alps.

Third, we have the main course: the peak station itself, perched on the edge of a dramatic rock face. True to Herzog & de Meuron’s resume, the building will be both minimalistic and blend in with the mountain on which it stands. The old station, which was originally built in 1967 and has been expanded over the years, will be torn down and entirely replaced by the new building. One thing that will not change, however, is the current Rotair. The tram will be incorporated into the new structure.

The new station, which will be created from a steel framework and glass, will be more spacious than the old one. A brand-new panoramic walkway will be built, offering previously inaccessible, spectacular, west-facing views of the backside of Mt Titlis. When viewed from the exit, the building will look like a giant, flat crystal, emerging from the mountain, almost fully integrated into the rock.

Naturally, building a massive structure on top of a mountain comes with the inherent risk of harming the surrounding nature. Because of this, sustainability has been a priority, and an integral part, of the Titlis Project since the beginning.

Even though the usable floor space will be increased by a massive 85 per cent, the heating energy requirements will be reduced by 50 per cent thanks to the large, glass facades, which will let in enough solar energy to passively heat large portions of the interior. The new buildings will also reduce CO2 emissions by 98 per cent compared to the current station, and their operation will be entirely fossil-free.

The Titlis Project will be a big change, and further establish Engelberg as a year-round tourist attraction. The new summit station will become the landmark that Titlis has perhaps lacked in the past. The open steel and glass framework combined with the larger space to make you feel like one with the surrounding mountains. You’ll be in the mountains rather than inside a building on top of a beautiful mountain.

This project is scheduled to be fully finished by 2029, and will create a brand-new landmark for the world of skiing on top of one of its most fabled playgrounds.