Nora Hotel: An unusual villa was built inside the mountainside in the Swiss Alps
Modern tourists, especially those who travel a lot, tell their friends only about the sights. Little is said about hotels. And why? After all, they are all similar to each other. But hotel business does not stand still and today more and more often architects are designing quite extravagant and unusual hotels. One of these is the private villa Vals, which was built inside the mountain!
Villa Vals is an unusual underground house that was built inside a mountain in Vals. Externally, the villa resembles a meteorite crater. According to the architects (SeARCH and CMA), it is this unusual form that allows you to create a modern architectural structure without disturbing the surrounding wildlife.
You can enter the villa not only from the main entrance, but also through an underground concrete tunnel. The spacious stone courtyard features a lovely relaxation deck with a natural spring, dutch bath (wood-burning hot tub), grill and wood storage. But the main attraction of this unusual villa is the fabulous panorama alpine mountains, which opens through a wide elliptical opening on the hillside.
The area of the two-story villa is 160 square meters. On the ground floor there is a kitchen, living room, library and one bedroom.
On the second floor there are four bedrooms with separate bathrooms. Also on the top floor of the barn there are beds made of alpine grass hay, on which everyone can rest.
The interior of the villa is decorated in a modern Dutch style. Sofas, tiles, dishes, vases and lamps - everything is thought out to the smallest detail! Concrete walls, natural stone steps and oak doors further connect the underground house with the surrounding nature.
Another very interesting feature villas - warm water floor. Architect Christian Mulle came up with such an unusual solution to save energy.
Despite the fact that most of the house is underground and three main walls are blank, all rooms of the villa are well lit by natural daylight. This effect was achieved thanks to the open concave façade and large window openings. Also, thanks to this unusual shape, the villa is completely protected from the wind.
March 18 from 17:38 due to deterioration weather conditions restrictions on the movement of passenger transport have been introduced on the section of the M4-Don highway from 777 to 1026 km in the Rostov region.
As of 9 a.m. on March 19, the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate's restriction for passenger vehicles has not been lifted.
According to employees of the Shakhty bus station, minibuses and buses have not been running to Rostov since March 18 from 17:40.
The route is closed by the leadership of the regional safety inspection traffic, - said the dispatcher of the Shakhty bus station,- as soon as the main bus station in Rostov reports that they are ready to accept minibuses, we will let them in from Shakhty. In the meantime, the townspeople will have to get there in another way.
Electric trains to Rostov run as usual. Therefore, you can get to the southern capital by railway. The next trains will depart at 16:30 and 19:10.
Route
Operational groups of local fire and rescue garrisons of the fire department of the Rostov region work on the routes.
7 mobile heating points have been deployed on problem sections of roads in Millerovsky, Tarasovsky, Kamensky and Krasnosulinsky districts.
Due to the slippery road, cars slide into a ditch and collide with each other. Drivers cannot maintain the distance due to ice that has formed on the road.
In total, more than 60 pieces of equipment and about 100 personnel are involved in eliminating the consequences of such accidents.
Assistance was provided to 16 motorists with towing Vehicle.
DVR cameras show that motorists have to drive in the oncoming lane.
The highway was blocked in both directions. Due to ice and falling rain, a traffic jam formed on the M-4 Don highway from the Likhoy post to the city of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. The video shows that the average traffic jam is 15 kilometers, - said Sergey Katsyn,- the same is true in the northern direction. The route is standing still.
According to information from the Rostov Hydrometeorological Center, weather conditions are expected to worsen in the Rostov region.
Deterioration of visibility in precipitation and phenomena up to 1000 - 500 m, at times up to 100 m. There is icy conditions on the roads, snow drifts in the northern half. Strong southwest wind, gusting 15-20 m/s. At night and in the morning of March 19 in the Azov region up to 24 m/s.
On March 19, the air temperature will continue to decrease: in the north at night to -8...-13°, during the day to -1...-6°; in the south at night -2...-7°; during the day +4…+9°.
02.04.2018 Newspaper At your service
Photo from the site Rostov Main, Region 61 | Rostov-on-Don Today, Friday, March 30, at about 16:10, a serious car accident with a fatal outcome occurred on the 6th km of the Rostov-Volgodonsk highway in the Rostov region.03/30/2018 Shakhty.Ru
A serious accident with a fatal outcome occurred on the sixth kilometer of the Rostov-Volgodonsk highway today, March 30.03/30/2018 161.Ru Today at 06:05, the restriction for the movement of passenger transport on the section of the M-4 Don highway from 777 to 1026 kilometers, which was introduced on the evening of March 18 due to unfavorable weather conditions, was lifted.
23.03.2018 Traffic Police Department of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate There are 36 units of special equipment on duty on the highways. According to weather forecasters, on the weekends of March 24 and 25 in the Rostov region there will be worsening weather conditions.
23.03.2018 Business community
Photo © Sergey Since the morning of Thursday, March 22, the restriction on the movement of passenger transport on the section of the M4 highway from the 777th to the 1026th kilometer has been lifted.
03/22/2018 Shakhty.Ru 
Weather restrictions have been completely lifted Passenger transport traffic was again allowed on the M-4 Don highway in the Rostov region.
03/22/2018 Panorama
New validators will appear in 1581 machines. Outdated yellow validators in public transport There will be no more Rostov.04/25/2019 State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Don-TR //photo from the website gorodkirov.ru Traffic on some streets of Rostov will be limited for three months due to repair work.
The foreign car would have suffered significant damage. A motorist from the Moscow region in the Oktyabrsky district of the city experienced the hospitality of Rostov trees.04/26/2019 Panorama
Unfamiliar "brick"
In “Crossroads” dated March 29, 2019, information was published about changes in traffic on the street.
04/25/2019 Portal Perekrestok
The Belokalitvinsk City Prosecutor's Office constantly monitors the condition of roads, bridges, and motor transport enterprises.
04/24/2019 Portal Perekrestok
The intersection of Belorusskaya Street and Dneprovsky Lane became famous for many accidents Ilya BOGOMOLOV Victory for Rostovites, achieved by dozens of wrecked cars:
04/26/2019 City reporter
To the accident site at the Skhidkarbon mine in Lugansk people's republic A few hours ago, mine rescuers stationed in the city of Shakhty left.04/26/2019 State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Don-TR
The bully was very drunk Residents of Rostov-on-Don managed to identify the “animal lover” who beat a man in front of his children at the city zoo.04/26/2019 Panorama
Robbed in 45 seconds: A member of a gang of special forces who stole millions from jewelry stores was sentenced
Azov resident Alexander Demchenko, who shot at police during his arrest, was sentenced to 12.5 years in prison Irina LENEVSKAYA On Thursday, April 25,
25.04.2019 TVNZ
The criminal case of the murder of Natalya Mulikhova amounted to 17 volumes Irina LENEVSKAYA A verdict was passed in the high-profile case of the murder of a jeweler from Taganrog.
04/25/2019 Komsomolskaya Pravda
In mid-April, three fires occurred in the Konstantinovsky district. On April 12, at 2:37 a.m., a residential building caught fire in the Kamyshny farmstead. with total area 36 sq.
04/26/2019 Don Lights newspaper
Only at the very beginning of her creative path is Valeria Kaptsova, a student of 3 “B” class of MBOU Secondary School No. 3 named after.04/24/2019 Semikarakorsky district
“The date of anxiety, exploits and mistakes” - under this name it was held in the city local history museum historical essay dedicated to the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl accident.04/26/2019 Administration of Shakhty
Museum staff V.A. Zakrutkina took an active part in the preparation of the Russian and Cossack festival folk culture“Dear Don Land”, which took place in the city of Shakhty, in the library named after.04/26/2019 Museum of History and Local Lore
At the Arts Center. The annual reporting art exhibition “Moments of Beauty” was opened by V.A. Serov
The role of Aksinya, childlessness and self-esteem of Elina BystritskayaAt the age of 92, the wonderful actress, Maly Theater legend and unforgettable Aksinya from “Quiet Don” Elina Bystritskaya died [video] Nikolai GERASIMOV It just so happened,
04/26/2019 Komsomolskaya Pravda
Complex landscapes and non-standard natural reliefs can turn from insurmountable obstacles into platforms for unusual solutions, if experienced, competent and possessing imaginative creative thinking masters get down to business. It is precisely this kind of project, created by the professionals of our bureau, that we want to tell the audience of readers and connoisseurs of top-class architectural creativity.
Projects of houses with a slope - the need for non-trivial solutions
This one on a slope was designed to accommodate the significant elevation change on the site. Therefore, we conditionally divided the structure into two parts: entry group, located in more high point, has one floor. Then the house seems to smoothly flow down the slope, and, starting from the living room, kitchen and dining room, it becomes two-story.
Such designs of houses on a plot with a slope solve several problems at once: firstly, they allow you to save on the foundation, and secondly, they provide an optimal balance of the load on the surface, taking into account the features of the landscape. And thirdly, from the outside, such a building looks quite unusual, attractive and bewitching.
The alpine style of the chalet, with clear geometrically precise outlines and a traditional gable tiled roof, chosen as the main reference point, is perfectly suited for the implementation of the project, since the original landscape evokes strong associations with mountainous or hilly terrain. In addition, following generally accepted rules, we decorated the cottage on a slope with natural materials - stone, wood, glass, decorative plaster. Their competent combination made it possible to create an ideal unified ensemble with the surrounding landscape.
The internal layout of the house project on a slope provides for a large number of rooms for various purposes, so it is certainly convenient for a large family consisting of spouses with several children.
The first floor of the chalet begins with a bright sunny porch, continues with a vestibule, and then with a spacious hall, from which you can enter the boiler room, laundry room-dressing room, gym-storage room or living room combined with kitchen and dining room. Also on the ground floor there is a bedroom for spouses with a separate dressing room and bathroom. The ensemble is completed by an open terrace, from which you can go directly down to the site via comfortable wooden steps.
On the second floor, the authors of the house project on the relief proposed placing three children's rooms with separate bathrooms and wardrobes, a bright, spacious hall that simultaneously serves as a location for games, as well as a small storage room and a long open balcony.
A successful find was the placement of two flights of stairs on opposite sides of the hall. This technique made it possible to obtain a space that opens up wide creative possibilities in the interior design process.
A feature of the house project on a slope is the presence of a large number of open elements - terraces, verandas, balconies. In addition, we did everything possible to ensure that natural light reached even the farthest corners of the rooms. For this purpose, one of the walls in the living-dining room and each of the children's rooms is furnished in the format of stained glass.
Landscape features - project of a house on a slope with a terrace surrounded by pristine nature
The site is a platform with a slope to the southeast. In its lower part there is a fairly large and picturesque pond. We created it on a slope with panoramic glazing with the expectation that the window openings and stained-glass windows of most of the rooms would be oriented towards the pond, as well as towards the southern, bright and sunny side of the world.
To improve the operational characteristics of the landscape, our specialists used terracing: due to this, it was possible to obtain several multi-level areas, united by transitions and steps, which became the basis for zoning the territory available to the customers.
In front of the entrance to the house there is parking for several cars, covered with rubble. This decision made it possible to abandon the construction of a standard covered garage, allowing the preservation of the natural landscape in most of the territory. At the far, lower end there is a bathhouse with access to a pond and an open terrace where you can take air baths, sitting comfortably under a canopy in comfortable sun loungers.
Natural green grass, a small number of solitaire and group plantings, crushed stone paths, the clear water surface of the pond and the elegant design of the cottage on the slope create a single harmonious ensemble in which the style of the summer Swiss Alps is easily discernible from any point of view.
Architectural bureau of Alexey Sukhov | website
1st floor plan:
2nd floor plan:
3d visualization of exteriors:
Are you planning to climb in the Alps this season? We suggest you take into account the most common mistakes made by climbers in the Alps.
This list was given by alpine expert, British climber Rob Greenwood.
Rob began climbing in 2003 while attending Bangor University.
His greatest mountaineering success to date is the 1938 route.
According to Rob: "Mountaineering provides people with unforgettable experiences and wonderful scenery - and this is the best it can be!"
- Error 1: Lack or incorrect choice of sunscreen
On my first alpine trek, I forgot to put sunblock on my face. In the Alps, especially on glaciers, the human body receives an excessive portion of ultraviolet radiation. Often people believe that the entire “threat” comes from above, from the sun, but at the same time they forget about the light reflected by snow and ice.
By the end of the day, those climbers who have not applied enough cream to their faces will develop blisters from ultraviolet burns on the areas of their faces that face the snow (bottom of the nose, chin, ears).
This experience was a very difficult test for me.
Before going out on the route, do not forget to apply sunscreen to your ears, forehead, nose, chin and wrists.
- Error 2: Insufficient acclimatization
When you first come to the Alps, you become completely captive of these the most beautiful mountains, everything around is so impressive that there is a desire to climb higher and higher as soon as possible, but this desire runs counter to the correct acclimatization program.
When my partner Alex Haslehurst and I arrived in Chamonix in 2011, I planned a series of difficult mountaineering climbs that began with the Frendo Spur route to the Aiguille du Midi, a decision that, as it turned out, was not entirely wise .
We then switched to the American Direct route to the top of Petit Dru. And one of our mistakes was that we didn’t have a single day of rest.
700 meters before the top of Petit Dru we both felt terrible... our strength was running out. Alex could barely concentrate on the right actions at all, his eyes were watering and he constantly felt dizzy.
This was my mistake, and such depletion of physical strength would not have occurred if we had carried out proper acclimatization and taken rest days.
- Error 3: Going uphill without a lift
Even when I was a student, climbing in the Alps seemed to me a very expensive undertaking: I had to buy equipment with my scholarship, pay for travel, insurance, housing, food and, ultimately, pay for the ski lifts.
Of course, the rather high cost of the lift is quite justified; they serve to make life easier for tourists.
You will need your strength not only to climb the route, but also to approach it and carry equipment; Yes, you definitely need to save energy for the descent, and sometimes you also need to organize an overnight stay on the wall.
If you have already planned an ascent along a specific route, and you know that it will be a real challenge for you to test your strength, then give yourself this chance, buy a ski pass for the lift!
- Error 4: Error in climbing logistics
This mistake is often caused by a lack of pre-planning of the route. I advise all climbers to plan their climb as carefully as possible, from maximum and thorough consideration of the route line, to the correct selection of equipment and reading the reports of other teams who have climbed this line of yours.
When Jack Geldart and I set out from Chamonix towards the Swiss Grindelwald to climb the North Face of the Eiger, we made the wrong decision to go through the Grimselpass, which turned out to be closed since the beginning of winter.
Therefore, we arrived at the starting point much later than planned, and could only watch as the last lift went up from the station.
Despite this unforgivable and bitter mistake, we still intended to climb to the top, so we had to redraw all our plans and deadlines.
Therefore, I can say that, before starting a climb, you should always be prepared for unforeseen surprises in the logistics of the route and, accordingly, you should have at least one day of reserve in your plans
- Error 5: Lack of concern for partner
This almost became my mistake, but this also caught Guy Robertson and, who were climbing the North Face of the Matterhorn; just two days later I climbed it with Jack Geldard.
They followed the route, summited and descended the Hörnli ridge with plans to spend the night at the Salvay Hut at 4,000 metres.
But since they planned to climb at a fast pace, hoping to complete the route during daylight hours, they did not take sleeping bags with them, counting on appropriate warm clothes in the hut itself....
But finding only a couple of thin blankets in the hut, they experienced, in Andy's words, "the worst, coldest night of their lives."
Two days later, Jack and I followed their trail, and we also approached this mountain hut without sleeping bags in our backpacks.
But unlike Andy and Guy, we went to bed under the same blanket, back to back to each other, we had never experienced a night like this before, but thanks to such an overnight stay we did not freeze.
Waking up at 8 am we felt rested and well-slept.
Sky-high house for climbers February 27th, 2014
How amazingly small our world is and how many phenomena are interconnected! It would seem, what kind of thread can be stretched from a hut for climbers at an altitude of four kilometers to the first soda plant in Russia? It turns out that there is such a thread, and its name is Ernest Gaston Solvay, a Belgian chemical technologist and entrepreneur.
But everything is in order. The chemist Solvay was born in 1838 and died in 1922. In the interval between these dates, he managed to accomplish many remarkable things, of which we are interested, firstly, in the fact that he developed an effective ammonia method for producing soda from table salt. Secondly, in 1883, together with the Perm merchant I.I. Lyubimov, he built the first soda production plant in Russia, which was located near the village of Berezniki, in the Perm province. Finally, in 1915, Solvay donated money to build a hut on the ridge of the Matterhorn (German: Matterhorn).
This picturesque mountain:
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Solvay Hut is located at an altitude of 4003 meters on the north-eastern ridge of the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland. This most exorbitant property, built in August 1915 in just five days, belongs to the Swiss Alpine Club.
I wonder how the construction of such an unusual thing was carried out?
Photo 2. 
First, with the help of animals, building materials were delivered to a height of 3260 meters, and then, with the help of a small and temporary cable car the materials were transported to their destination, that is, to a final altitude of 4000 meters.
The lodge was named after Belgian inventor-businessman Ernest Solvay, who donated it as a sign of gratitude for the unforgettable hours spent in the mountains and the knowledge that sudden storms could lead to tragedies for climbers on their way up or down. And as you may have guessed, I called this house exorbitant not because of its cost, but because of its belongings, usefulness and, of course, the presence of romance.
Photo 3. 
Solvay Hut was restored in 1966 and an emergency telephone was installed in 1976.
And how is this sky-high house different from other mountain buildings, you ask? Basically, all mountain buildings are intended to replenish food supplies, to provide housing for climbers, rock climbers, and ordinary tourists. Solvay Hut should only be used in cases of extreme necessity. Take a breather, click the majestic, breathtaking beauty mountain range Monte Rosa, take a sip of tea and go back in search of adventure. As they say, small is the spool, but it is expensive, and good things must come in small quantities))
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What kind of mountain is this? Now I'll tell you...
Located on the border of Switzerland and Italy, Mount Matterhorn is a kind of pyramid in the center of Europe: four triangular faces converge at its top. Like any other pyramid (be it famous pyramids in Egypt or slightly less known similar structures in Mexico), Mount Matterhorn is also full of mysteries and tragic stories.
The Matterhorn ranks only fifth in height among the Alpine peaks, but in terms of difficulty of climbing it has no equal among its neighbors. Its edges are so treacherous that the most experienced climbers were unable to climb them until 1865. And the southern slope remained unconquered for another 66 years.
And the ascents themselves have more than once brought very contradictory results. So, the first to climb the mountain was the Briton Edward Whymper with a group of climbers. And during the descent, four of the pioneers died as a result of a rope break... In 1933, three Frenchmen made the first ascent of one of the Matterhorn routes - and all three died on the way back.
One of the climbers who became famous thanks to the Matterhorn was guide Hermann Perren. He set himself the task of climbing this mountain as many as 150 times, but when he had less than ten ascents left to achieve the record, he fell and fell to his death.
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And although by now absolutely all the walls and edges of the Matterhorn have been climbed, and guides take a large number of tourists to the top (so that some routes are heavily overloaded), between 10 and 15 people still die here every year.
The Matterhorn has its own character - at least the residents of the nearby town of Zermatt have no doubt about it. They say that even the weather in Switzerland, in this part of it, depends on your mood legendary mountain. When the sky is gloomy and the 4,478-meter peak of the Matterhorn is hidden behind clouds, it means that the mountain is not in good spirits. When the Matterhorn wants to play a joke, it can “appear as Vesuvius”: a cloud covers only part of the mountain, creating the feeling that smoke is billowing from the top, as if before an eruption. But when this hill is in a good mood, it shows off, glistening with the glacier cap at the top, as if inviting you to take an unforgettable photo of the Matterhorn.
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The city of Zermatt, located on the mountainside at an altitude of 1,608 meters, takes full advantage of having such a neighbor. This is not just one of the most famous ski resorts in Switzerland: it is, in fact, business card tourism in this country. There is something to do here all year round, but summer activity, as you might guess, is also associated with relaxation in the mountains. To the point that the so-called “dawn trains” are launched from Zermatt, with the help of which you can catch the stunningly beautiful sunrise on the Matterhorn...
The mountain is exploited from the side in approximately the same way neighboring country. At an altitude of 2,006 meters above sea level at the foot southern slope Matterhorn is the village of Breuil-Cervinia - extremely popular ski resort Italy. They have nothing to share with Zermatt: the mountain is common, and nothing can be done about it. Therefore, both resorts have common ski slopes, are common tourist routes and a huge number of travelers who come here for active and ski holiday in the Alps.
…They also say that anyone who sees the Matterhorn will be lucky and rich. Maybe that's why so much money is kept in Swiss safes? We invite you to admire this famous Swiss natural monument: a great opportunity to test a local saying!
Now let's do it virtual walk around the mountain... click on the picture and enjoy the virtual journey!
And here’s what else I’ll remind you on the topic of extreme structures in the mountains: for example. And of course, I’ll remind you about it in more detail. Let's also remember the high-mountain observatory on the topic. The original article is on the website InfoGlaz.rf Link to the article from which this copy was made -
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