Kugelgarn^® for cross-border enjoyment

The mountain station of the Dachstein Glacier Cableway in Austria was built in 1969 and quickly became one of the country's most popular excursion destinations. The station was completely renovated inside and out between autumn 2023 and spring 2024 under the motto ‘Energy Crystal’ and was Austria's highest construction site at 2700 m above sea level at the time (the summit of the Dachstein is at 2995 m above sea level). Kugelgarn^® textile flooring was used in the restaurant.

Some of the work on the construction site was spectacular. For example, a crane was flown in by helicopter and, for safety reasons, a climber had to regularly remove ice from it. The view from the new restaurant is also spectacular, with a 280-degree panorama of the surrounding mountains. Sustainability was a key focus during the renovation. On the outside, this is particularly evident in the photovoltaic cladding on three sides of the façade. This should enable the mountain station to generate up to 80 per cent of the energy it needs itself. Inside, Kugelgarn^® was chosen as the floor covering, also for reasons of sustainability. Where hikers and skiers enter and leave with their shoes, the flooring must be robust and durable to last as long as possible. For the Dachstein mountain station, this was also a choice based on conviction, because the decision in favour of the Kugelgarn^® used was made because the product had already been successfully used in various projects and had proven to be extremely resistant to extreme stresses. ‘Even at 2,700 metres on the Dachstein, this floor impresses with its robustness and durability,’ says Reinfried Prugger, infrastructure projects manager and project manager of the conversion.

But the Kugelgarn^®, laid in the mountain station in the quality Resista COLORpunkt^® umbra grey, not only impresses with its durability. On the Dachstein, it is ‘so beautiful that one federal state is not enough,’ says Thomas Stelzer, the ÖVP Governor of Upper Austria, alluding to the border between the two federal states of Upper Austria and Styria that runs across the Dachstein glacier. This border, which runs through the middle of the restaurant, is made visible on the floor by two-coloured lines of red and green Kugelgarn^®.

The possibilities offered by the cut resistance of the floor covering are most clearly demonstrated by the two coats of arms of the federal states, which were hung in the restaurant. Cut into tiny pieces on a cutting machine, the coats of arms were pieced together from different Kugelgarn^® qualities, faithfully reproducing the two state coats of arms in a single homogeneous image. Such inlays – individually cut patterns – can also be laid on the floor like normal Kugelgarn^® modules, thus contributing to creative floor and room design.

The restaurant on the Dachstein offers a very inviting space, where visitors can enjoy the view both outside and within. The natural materials create a warm atmosphere, and the modern wooden elements harmonise particularly well with the umber-coloured dots of the flooring. The glacier restaurant on the Dachstein is a true oasis of well-being.