THE (ABANDONED) HOTEL IN THE ALPS - STUDIO CAPAUL & BLUMENTHAL - SPRING SEMESTER ENAC - EPFL 2020
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THE (ABANDONED)
HOTEL IN THE ALPS
Der Kurort Tenigerbad
WTE
GROîSSES HOTEL
ANI
LD H A U S
P
W
GERBAD
1
STUDIO CAPAUL & BLUMENTHAL – SPRING SEMESTER ENAC – EPFL – 2020
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Teil
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EPFL – ENAC – SAR – MA2 – 2020
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Professors Ramun Capaul and Gordian Blumenthal · Assistants Arabella Masson and Thierry Manasseh 1
THE (ABANDONED) HOTEL IN THE ALPS
DAWN OF ALPINE TOURISM cal nature made: this provided users of the Tenigerbad with
Scientific exploration of the Alps and glorification of the natu- almost urban levels of comfort, including a modern sewage
ral environment by the Geneva writer and philosopher Jean- system, cooling systems, electric lighting, central heating,
Jacques Rousseau were the factors in the 18th century that and telephone and telegraph connections.
ultimately led to the following century’s surge of tourism in the
alpine region. The first ascent of Mont Blanc in 1786 further
strengthened the enthusiasm for the Alps. The presence
of travellers necessitated the provision of accommodation,
hence the emergence of simple alpine inns and guesthouses
in the early 19th century. Technical advances and the demo
cratisation of travel in the latter half of the 19th century led to
a rapid rise in tourism, which in turn saw Switzerland experi-
ence its first major hotel boom.
WALDHÄUSER
The high occupancy rate of the hotel and the commercial
success of the Tenigerbad led to the construction between
1908 and 1910 of two new hotel buildings on an elevated
clearing above the original spa house. Known collectively
as the Waldhäuser (Forest Houses) the principal facility was
over 80 metres in length and had four floors, each featuring a
central corridor providing access to two rows of guest rooms.
The pricier rooms facing south had the benefit of wooden
balconies. Each floor had the use of a mineral bath. The
TENIGERBAD ground floor of this stone building contained a restaurant, a
Hotel construction came comparatively late to Canton spacious dining room and several lounges. The hotel was
Graubünden. Spas were often key to the development of even equipped with a darkroom for developing photographs,
tourism here: bathing facilities providing board and lodging a hairdressing salon and a telephone.
have featured alongside springs with curative properties for Forming the centre of the complex was a central lobby on the
centuries. The Tenigerbad, or Bogn Tenigia as it is known ground floor: this provided access to a loggia offering views
in the local Romansh language, is nestled in the remote Val of the valley and an axially attached semi-circular porch with
Sumvitg, a side valley feeding the Anterior Rhine in Canton a staircase on one side. The main staircase leading to the
Graubünden’s Surselva region. A mule track leads past the upper floors was located next to the main entrance, which
location to the Greina plateau and thence to Canton Ticino. meant that it was not structurally connected to the lobby,
Currently mothballed, the spa’s raison d’être is a spring, unlike similar hotel buildings of that period.
records of which date back to the 16th century. Until the early The hotel boasted an in-house laundry, a pharmacy, a bakery
19th century, the curative waters supplied a simple rural and a post office complete with telegraph. The smaller of the
bathing arrangement consisting of wooden troughs in which two Waldhäuser buildings, the dépendence, was provided
visitors to the valley could immerse themselves; neither board for the accommodation of tourists of more modest means.
nor lodging were provided. It was not until 1881 that steps Surrounding the new hotel complex was an extensive park
were taken to erect a three-storey spa house. The hiring of featuring seating, footpaths and resting places. Forming a
an in-house physician signalled the professionalisation of the veritable self-contained microcosm, the Waldhäuser were
spa and its attendant health resort business. The following equipped with an infrastructure that had never been seen
decade saw the house enlarged and investments of a techni- before in the more rural parts of the Surselva region.
EPFL – ENAC – SAR – MA2 – 2020
Professors Ramun Capaul and Gordian Blumenthal · Assistants Arabella Masson and Thierry Manasseh 2
WALDHAUS
TENIGERBAD
1907 (K
Graubün
WALDHÄUSER UND TENIGERBAD AG
The Waldhaus Company subsequently acquired the Teniger- Teil
bad old buildings, the electricity generating plant and the min-
eral spring, renaming itself Waldhäuser und Tenigerbad AG
in the process. The modestly sized climatic spa resort with its
curative waters now boasted 220 beds and the patronage of
an international clientele. Notwithstanding the good omens,
the resort’s destiny was soon cut short by the outbreak of
the First World War, which saw visitors from abroad vanish
overnight; the Second World War served only to exacerbate
the situation. Interim measures and business models brought
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NEW DAWN – BUT NOT FOR LONG
The early 1960s saw a new owner demolish the Waldhaus
Dépendence and replace it with a new building able to ac-
commodate 150 overnight guests and equipped with three
pools, one of which was outdoor next to the spa building.
The Tenigerbad was modernised to a high medical standard.
The new company behind the venture, Tenigerbad AG, began 1=0 mw%
trading under the strapline „Tenigerbad im Somvixertal“
in 1974. It advertised a comprehensive social and cultural
programme, including readings, concerts and exhibitions s ] **
as well as guided walks and excursions. Although the hotel ii m m NM i
rara
was intended to remain open throughout the year, the first
(and successful) season was followed by a downturn in the
business’s fortunes, and spring 1977, just three trading years
later, saw the facilities close for good. Tenigerbad AG was ea/cej
declared bankrupt in 1978, since when the spa has stood i ;
.|i liatyii:,:, ¦]{¦¦ J^.lr-rr
empty and unused.
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foko*
ΗA 3E S
PROJECT proposals for their reanimation. In the process, individual
The semester objective is to develop a future scenario for parts of the building complex can be demolished or replaced
the destination Tenigerbad. The remote situation within the and functions can be introduced which create synergies with
fascinating natural landscape and the history of the build- the existing parts.
ings of Tenigerbad and Waldhaus constitute the basis for the Investigations on the evolution of travel and tourism play a
development of the project. role in the development of the project as well as reflections
The aim is to identify the architectural potential of the historic about and the relationship of the resort to the landscape and
buildings in regard to the cultural heritage and to formulate its significance for the inhabitants of the region.
EPFL – ENAC – SAR – MA2 – 2020
Professors Ramun Capaul and Gordian Blumenthal · Assistants Arabella Masson and Thierry Manasseh 3Keywords: ROUSSEAU Jean-Jacques: Julie ou la Nouvelle Héloïse,
Hotel, Tourism, Alps, Hotel Typologies, Architectural Ensem- Marc-Michel Rey, Amsterdam, 1761
ble, Landscape, Heritage, Conservation, Reanimation, Resto- ROUSSEAU Jean-Jacques: Lettres écrites de la montagne,
ration, Rehabilitation, New Use, Extension, Thermal Bath. Marc-Michel Rey, Amsterdam, 1764
RUCKI Isabelle: Das Hotel in den Alpen. Die Geschichte der
Contributions: Oberengadiner Hotelarchitektur von 1860–1914, Baden, 1989
Leza Dosch, Peter Egloff, Franz Graf, Katarina Lundeberg, THURSTON Bryan, WEISS Hans: Greina – einsames Berg
Jon Mathieu, Maximilian Rimmel, Marc Tomaschett, Leo Tuor land, werk/oeuvre 8/74 (http://www.e-periodica.ch)
VON BERGEN Markus: La sauvegarde d’un hôtel historique
Geography: (Mürren, BE), Enoncé théorique et projet de diplôme, Groupe
www.geogr.ch>viewer> tenigerbad, sumvitg de suivi GRAF Franz, ORTELLI Luca, BISCHOFF Christian,
BOESCH Martin, EPFL, Lausanne, 2010
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1796, (-) HANSEN Fosnes: Et hummerliv, Lobster Life, 2016
DEL CURTE Davide (eds.), DINI Roberto (eds.), MENINI Gia- MANN Thomas: Zauberberg, The Magic Mountain, 1924
como (eds.): Architecture in the Alps, Heritage and Design, TUOR Leo: Giacumbert Nau, 1994
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EPFL – ENAC – SAR – MA2 – 2020
Professors Ramun Capaul and Gordian Blumenthal · Assistants Arabella Masson and Thierry Manasseh 4You can also read
