Seele's Waves in Davos

Deemed "unbuildable" by many experts, the curving spandrel panels are the results of technological advances at all stages of design and fabrication.

OIKIOS, led by Oliver Hofmeister, worked with two primary consultants to design and engineer the envelope: designtoproduction, a firm that modeled the façade's surfaces through parametric geometries, and Wilhelm + Partner, the structural engineers for the façade. In particular the parametric modeling – an approach that allows any geometrical changes to ripple throughout the whole model within the software environment – enabled the complex, organic form of the exterior to approach built reality. Designtoproduction's 3-D model and data was shared with the engineer and Seele to aid in structural calculations and fabrication of the spandrel elements.

Seele's main design contribution was to switch from the intended aluminum for the 3-D curving spandrel panels to steel with a coated champagne finish. Seele developed a standardized, laser-cut grid for the supporting frame with primary and secondary ribs supporting 3mm sheet steel on all sides. While nearly 800 spandrel pieces cover the building, they were fabricated from more than 62,000 individual pieces, including the dome crowning the building (construction photo below). The transfer of the complex geometries from the design team directly to Seele for fabrication drawings enabled the organization and handling of this staggering number of pieces.

While the flowing spandrels accentuate the unique oval form, they also create distinctive portals for each room. Parallelograms with curving edges frame the mountain views from the terraces, which allow hotel guests to actually touch the steel that is the product of human creativity and computer technology.

While the flowing spandrels accentuate the unique oval form, they also create distinctive portals for each room. Parallelograms with curving edges frame the mountain views from the terraces, which allow hotel guests to actually touch the steel that is the product of human creativity and computer technology.