See You Restaurant | obermoser + partner architekten zt gmbh

Obergurgl is a village of 420 inhabitants situated in Ötztal, a valley in the heart of the Austrian Alps within the region Tyrol. With an altitude of 1.930 m, it is this the highest parish in Austria.

A consistent tourism flow throughout the year, shaping and revitalising the area, ensures for this remote site to remain connected with the rest of the world.

the client requested the obermoser + partner architekten to develop residential units for employees of the tourism sector, the complex will be complemented by a restaurant, a few shops and private apartments.

In order to overcome the limitations imposed by the location, a six-storey-steep slope stretching between two streets leading to the town centre, has been a real challenge for the design concept.

We chose to work on the cross section. This involved straightening the slope into a wall, locating all living functions at the west-front and assigning a distribution and social function to the interstitial void.

On the seventh floor, directly accessible from the upper street, we placed the See You restaurant. Its top location offers the most spectacular view over the mountains on the opposite west side.

While designing the interiors of the See You Restaurant, we deliberately staged the structural elements as distinctive features. Arches of exposed reinforced concrete unfold in different directions and then recollect in bundles. The bar, a lounge area and a sequence of dining spaces can be used as one open space or be separated in smaller partitions.

The selection of materials for the interiors is deliberately minimalist and recalling the raw, untreated elements that for generations have been used in the alpine region.

These include massive oak wood for the floors, wall coverings and furniture, local granite stone has been used as floor covering in the hallway and connecting spaces. Black-inox and copper are used for the bar cladding, while curtainwalls of Loden fabric serve as space partitioning elements

The deep blue of the sound-absorbing ceilings and background walls provide a distinctive colour-accent at both ends of the restaurant.