A new tower designed by Los Angeles architect Thom Mayne was announced today which, when complete, will be the tallest building in Europe. Is it in Moscow? London? Frankfurt? Nope. Mayne's shiny slab will stab the sky in the tiny hamlet of Vals, Switzerland.


Mayne's firm Morphosis passed along details of the 80-story, 1250-foot tower, which was the result of a competition sponsored by a resort in the Swiss town. The 107-room hotel is planned to open in 2019, when it should be the continent's tallest—unless a planned tower in St. Petersburg assumes its full projected height.


The renderings show a plane of glass shimmering high into the alpine sky, where it appears to evaporate into the atmosphere.

In fact, that seems to be the theme: A vaporous facade which has no exterior form, merely reflecting its idyllic surroundings. But we know that will not be the case, of course, as no building is invisible enough to simply dissipate into nothingness.

(Nothingness, by the way, is all that's left of author Ray Bradbury's home, which was demolished by Mayne earlier this year to make way for his new house. Which will likely also stick out like a sore phallus.)


Vals is no backwater when it comes to great design: Its public baths designed by Peter Zumthor have become somewhat of a pilgrimage site for architecture devotees. But this sliver of silver that spikes above the adjacent majestic peaks has already raised all sorts of arguments about whether or not the tower is site-appropriate in a place renown for its natural beauty.

Then again, context is really not Mayne's strong point. [Dezeen via Archinect]

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