The project architect responsible for Zaha Hadid’s Messner Mountain Museum Corones in Italy has told CLAD that cultural buildings have an important role to play in the reinvigoration of ski resorts.

Peter Irmsche, who is interviewed in the latest issue of CLADmag, explained how Hadid’s museum – one of her final completed projects before her untimely death on 31 March this year – has increased the popularity of Italy’s Kronplatz ski resort, which commissioned the project.

“Competition is high in alpine areas and some of the valleys are trying to differentiate themselves with pop concerts and marketing,” he said. “But I think using culture, museums and architecture is a better way to stand out.

“The MMM Corones attracts another type of visitor to the mountain: those who want to see the architecture, as well as the exhibition. You can access the museum by skis: the whole idea is to park your skis outside and one of the specifications was that you had to be able to walk through with ski boots on. It will hopefully become part of the skiing experience.”

Other ski resorts that are adopting a similar cultural approach include Power Mountain in Utah – which will feature artisan stores, artists’ workshops, restaurants and cafés – and the Vilnius Beacon in Lithuania, where Daniel Libeskind is designing a mountain-top cultural and sports venue.

The Corones museum, which is built into the mountain rock at a height of 2,275m (7,463ft) above sea level, is dedicated to the discipline of mountaineering and offers unique views of both the Dolomites and the Alps. It is named after Italian mountaineer and explorer Reinhold Messner, the first person to climb the world’s 14 peaks over 8,000m, who curated the exhibits.

Originally, the resort had only commissioned a viewing platform to be built, but they were so impressed by Hadid’s vision for a museum that they changed their plans, hoping that the new cultural element would persuade visitors to come during the quieter summer months, making the ski lift much more sustainable to run.

“I think the museum design is amazing and enhances and highlights the incredible views, while also pulling visitors into another interesting world,” said Irmsche. “The exhibition provides another level of information about the landscape, explaining what it means to navigate through this mountainous area or how it feels to climb a vertical rock wall. We provided the canvas for the story Reinhold wanted to tell.”

The architect also told CLAD how Hadid drew on the stunning natural landscape for the design. He said: “The engagement with nature, and indeed mountains, is something Zaha Hadid explored since the very beginning of her career. Her proposal for the Hong Kong Peak Club in 1982 was derived from the natural geology and topography of Victoria Peak that towers over the city.

“We used a bright concrete and a darker concrete to reflect the two different stones you find in the surrounding mountain ranges. The Dolomites are more like chalk, a brighter stone, and the Alps are darker and volcanic.

“As an office, we’ve been working on other projects that connect directly with nature – and with the Alps in particular. The Bergisel Ski Jump and the Nordpark Cable Railway in Innsbruck are so far the most prominent projects in a mountainous environment, and the Messner Mountain Museum is an exciting new aspect to this strand of our work.”

The latest issue of CLADmag can be read online, on Digital Turning Pages and as a text PDF download.