architek[tour] tirol – guide to architecture in tyrol

With the Swarovski Manufaktur in Wattens, Snøhetta developed a hybrid location for production, creative collaboration and representation for the Tyrolean crystal manufacturer. A column-free hall with natural light through openings in the ceiling offers space for machines, robots and workbenches, but also for offices and meeting zones. A large open staircase, which also serves as a meeting point and arena, leads up to a wooden platform suspended from the ceiling, into which further offices and showrooms are integrated.

On the occasion of their 20-year existence, the Swarovski Crystal Worlds doubled in size in 2015, adding a new cabinet of wonder, an extensive park and several structural components. The entrance area, conceived as a "white forest” with its wide-jutting concrete roof supported by birch tree trunks and the design of the store, derived from a river landscape, originate from s_o_s architekten. On one hand, Snøhetta erected the well-lit, organically formed pavilion for the Daniels Café & Restaurant; on the other hand, the play tower encased with crystalline glass panels and the adventure playground that lies in front of it.

Although the sports hall was built for the neighbouring primary school and is also used by the community’s various sports clubs, it was actually designed by the architects as a building for public use. A large part of the building, covered by a roof with a double bend, is sunken into the ground; the ground floor opens towards the road through a generously glazed foyer. A stand for 300 spectators completes the flowing crossover from the foyer down to the triple gymnasium.

Dominique Perrault was the first architect not resident in Tyrol to be entrusted with the setting up of, in the meantime, three supermarkets by MPREIS, two in Wattens and one in Zirl. The SuperM on the main road to Wattens is situated in the middle of a heterogeneous built-up-area. Perrault reacted to this with a materiality and constructively light and open building with a yard type recess, which together with the small protruding square, forms an urban centre.

Dominique Perrault set up his first MPREIS opposite Swarovski Kristallwelten, which was designed by André Heller – a solitary building based on minimalism with an opaque shimmering glass façade. A biomorphic scaffolding surrounding nine pines permeates the rectangular building allowing the border between the inside and outside to merge where visible truss-girders, OSB boards and black floor slabs create a market hall atmosphere.