SAC hut on the Morteratsch Glacier in the Engadin to be rebuilt

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This is what the new Chamanna da Boval on the Morteratsch Glacier in the Engadin is to look like. (Visualization)

Image: Keystone

The over 100-year-old SAC hut Boval on the Morteratsch glacier in the Engadine is being largely demolished and rebuilt. The contemporary new hut will use the stone base of the old one as a terrace and the cellar rooms as a technical room.

Keystone-SDA

25.06.2025, 18:30•25.06.2025, 18:44

The wooden bar building at 2,495 meters above sea level, which was built in 1918 and extended in 1978, no longer meets today's requirements, as the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC) announced on Wednesday. The bedrooms, kitchen, sanitary facilities and recreation rooms are in need of renovation, and the requirements for fire and water protection and food hygiene are no longer met.

The poorly insulated façade contains asbestos and the load-bearing structure of the wooden building is undersized. The room layout is also not optimal and does not meet the expectations of the guests or the operational needs of the hut team, wrote the SAC.

Holistic project

"The winning project of the open architectural competition impresses with an exemplary integration of the new hut into the landscape, a clever spatial layout and an optimization of operational processes," explained the Alpine Club. Last but not least, the jury was won over by the holistic approach to climate-friendly construction.

The "Mauerläufer" design by the architectural firm Mulder Zonderland from Zurich uses reused wooden elements in the façade. It came out on top against 68 other projects in the open architecture competition.

Construction is due to start in 2027 or 2028. The old Chamanna da Boval will remain open until then.