Hotel Tower in Vals by Morphosis

The Swiss Valsertal valley is one of the sought-after destinations for architectural tours. From the village of Vals, cargo trucks loaded with Valser mineral water depart at regular intervals, so it can no longer be spoken of as an untouched place by civilization in the heart of Graubünden. However, investor Remo Stoffel has now decided to permanently deprive Vals of its charm. At the end of March, the results of an architectural competition for a five-star hotel with a hundred luxurious rooms were announced. Among the seven proposals from world-renowned creators, the project of an extremely slender 380-meter-high tower by Thom Mayne from the Los Angeles studio Morphosis prevailed. The hotel owner argues that similar transformations occurred in the 20th century in hotels in Davos and St. Moritz. At the same time, they wish to focus more on clientele in Vals (“very wealthy businesspeople from Asia and Arab countries”) who will be able to afford to pay thousands of francs for spacious rooms. The tower is to be built near a park designed by Tadao Ando, which smoothly connects to Zumthor's baths. Tadao Ando was originally to chair the jury, but was ultimately represented in the selection of the new hotel by Berlin architect Louisa Hutton. The jury, which included Vittorio Magnago Lampugnani and Daniel Niggli, distanced itself from the final decision in favor of Mayne's project. Whether the tower will be realized is still unclear. The residents of the thousand-strong Vals and the Graubünden cantonal government must also express their opinions on the project.

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