In the course of our work, and also through this small window into the world of architecture and design in leisure, tourism and hospitality, we pay close attention to new construction methods. One of these methods, which is becoming increasingly widespread, is prefabrication. It has many advantages over traditional construction, including a smaller carbon footprint and shorter delivery times for buildings and/or facilities. On this occasion we have chosen a project which, although it was built a few years ago, is of great interest due to its design, construction and location. It is the high mountain refuge hotel LEAPrus 3912.
LEAPrus 3912 is situated at an altitude of 4,000 metres in the centre of the North Caucasus mountain range in Russia, on the south face of Europe’s highest peak, Mount Elbrus. It was built and installed by the Italian architecture and design company LEAPFactory on behalf of the North Caucasus Mountain Club, a Russian organisation for the development of tourism in the mountainous region. The four modular buildings of which it is composed, completely prefabricated in resin and fibreglass sandwich, were built in Italy and then transported to Russia. The modules were flown by helicopter to the summit, where a team of highly skilled technicians assembled them in just a few days.
Two of the buildings of the Mount Elbrus refuge hotel provide accommodation and common living quarters for up to 49 mountaineers. A third building houses a restaurant, and accommodation for the service staff. In contrast, showers and toilets are located in a fourth, smaller module. To make efficient use of the energy and resources available, the designers and architects used a variety of technologies: a system for melting snow and supplying water to the complex, a hybrid electricity production system, an internal air circulation system with heat recovery, LED lighting, underfloor heating designed to operate at low temperatures, a wastewater treatment plant specifically designed to operate at high altitude, etc. In addition, all systems are remotely controlled and regulated via satellite, ensuring efficient management throughout the year.
LEAPrus 3912 responds to the Italian company’s declared search for an “alternative to traditional construction that minimises the negative impact on energy, water and resources, and increases the well-being of the inhabitants at an appropriate price”.
You can watch the spectacular construction process of the refuge hotel in this video:
Sources: ArchDaily, Dezeen, LEAPFactory.
Images: LEAPFactory.
