Mountain high

But this project sees the firm elevate its own intuitive cool a bit closer to home – in the Swiss Alps. Titlis, a mountain 3,000 metres above sea level, is one of Switzerland's most renowned international tourist attractions. The station summit was built in 1967, but despite updates and modifications, it no longer fulfils current or future requirements. Cue Herzog & de Meuron with a brand new construction that entirely replaces the original structure, as well as an upgrade of the existing underground tunnel.

If Titlis 3020 looks Bond-ish, that sort of rarefied retreat that a Blofeld or a Dr No might frequent, it's no accident. For too long, Herzog & de Meuron remark, "high-altitude outdoor locations in Switzerland have been fitted with purely functional buildings for the transport and catering of visitors. Rarely do they display any architectural ambitions."

Until now, that is. "Our project on Titlis belongs to a new generation of alpine architecture that aims to do justice to the breathtaking landscape by ensuring a corresponding architectural experience of the kind now familiar to us in our cities," say the architects. "Titlis gives us the opportunity to present a concrete example of our long-standing theoretical study of the territory of Switzerland. The project articulates an unstoppable process that is transforming Switzerland into a complex, differentiated overall urban landscape." Much of which is the firm's own doing, it could be said.