Mountain and Valley Station of the Klein Matterhorn 3S Cableway in Zermatt, Switzerland

Dlubal customer Indermühle Bauingenieure was responsible for the mountain and valley station timber engineering. This included the preliminary project scope, construction supervision, and 3D project planning on behalf of the wood construction company. The structural design was performed in RFEM.

Both station buildings were designed with timber materials rather than steel to meet the 30-minute (R30) fire resistance design requirement. Timber was also the better option due to design and environmental considerations.

Mountain Station Structure

The building dimensions are 38 m x 27 m (125 ft x 89 ft) and include a crystal shape similar to the existing mountain station. The structure is designed to withstand snow and avalanche loads up to 6,000 kg/m² (1,228.8 lbs/ft²)! The building can also endure wind loads up to 320 kg/m² (65.5 lbs/ft²), which is more than three times the wind magnitude for structures designed on the plains.

The timber structure is composed of rigid frames which lean against one another. The span has been reduced by struts oriented toward the rock face. Since it was possible to transport only structural components with a maximum length of 12 m (39 ft), the downstand beams and supports were rigidly connected on site.

Valley Station Structure

The 40/152 cm (131 ft x 499 ft) cross-section primary beams consist of an 3.35 m (11 ft) length, which rest on fan-shaped struts. The concrete slab, which cantilevers 5.5 m (19 ft) to the west side, is suspended from the roof structure by facade supports. A similar concept is applied to the parking rails and hall crane.