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2019-02-06

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

After more than 2 1/2 years of construction, the world’s highest 3S cableway, "Matterhorn glacier ride", opened at the end of September 2018. The $55 million project was developed to increase passenger capacity to the Klein Matterhorn, at an altitude of 12,802 ft.

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 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 1,228.8 lbs/ft²! The building can also endure wind loads up to 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 39 ft, the downstand beams and supports were rigidly connected on site.

Valley Station Structure 

The 131 ft x 499 ft cross-section primary beams consist of an 11 ft length, which rest on fan-shaped struts. The concrete slab, which cantilevers 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.

Client
Zermatt Bergbahnen AG, Switzerland
Architect Peak Architekten
www.peakarchitekten.com
Timber Design
Indermühle Bauingenieure, Switzerland
Reinforced Concrete Design
LABAG AG, Switzerland
Timber Structure
Brawand Zimmerei AG, Switzerland


Project Specifications

Model data

Number of Nodes 163
Number of Lines 242
Number of Members 242
Number of Load Cases 206
Number of Result Combinations 19
Total Weight 165.008 tons
Dimensions 142.21 x 104.36 x 65.02 feet
Program Version 5.17.02

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