Architecture

Mountaintop James Bond museum is licensed to chill

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007 Elements is located in the same area that scenes from the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre were filmed
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements is reachable only by cable car
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements is located on a site 3,040 m (9,973 ft)-high on the summit of Gaislachkogl Mountain, above Sölden in Austria
Christoph Nîsig
007 Elements is located in the same area that scenes from the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre were filmed
Christoph Nîsig
Visitors enter 007 Elements through a tunnel named "the Barrel of the Gun," before descending into multiple exhibition spaces
Kristopher Grunert
The 007 Elements exhibition spaces have novel names like the "Lair" and "Briefing Room," with sculptures, viewings of previous Bond movie action sequences, and more
Kristopher Grunert
The 007 Elements building itself sports a simple material palette of concrete, steel and glass, which was chosen to reflect modern Bond's style
Kristopher Grunert
The 007 Elements installations were curated with input from Neal Callow, Creative and Art Director on the last four Bond films, and Optimist's Tino Schaedler
Kristopher Grunert
007 Elements was constructed during very challenging conditions 
Rudi Whyhlidal
007 Elements required a helicopter to bring over building materials
Rudi Whyhlidal
007 Elements is located near a restaurant called ice-Q, which featured in Spectre as the Hoffler Klinik
Rudi Whyhlidal
007 Elements offers choice views of the stunning mountainous landscape
Rudi Whyhlidal
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Reachable only by cable car and situated at 3,040 m (9,973 ft) on the summit of Gaislachkogl Mountain in Austria, the new James Bond-themed 007 Elements museum must be among the highest museums in the world. It has a striking concrete design and, interestingly, doesn't feature any heating at all, despite the extreme environment.

007 Elements sports a simple material palette of concrete, steel, and glass, which was chosen to reflect the modern James Bond aesthetic and brings to mind Zaha Hadid's Austrian mountain museum. It certainly looks the part, and it's not too big a stretch to picture Daniel Craig sipping a vodka martini somewhere in the premises.

We asked the firm behind 007 Elements, Obermoser Arch-Omo, about its curious decision to not use any heating or cooling and were told that it was decided to go this route early in the design process, to make guests experience the installation as an extension of the extreme environment. The firm also told us that the lack of heating ensures that no heat was transferred to the surrounding permafrost.

Visitors enter the museum through a tunnel named "the Barrel of the Gun," before descending into multiple exhibition spaces that were curated with input from Neal Callow, Creative and Art Director on the last four Bond films, and Optimist's Tino Schaedler. They have novel names like the "Lair" and "Briefing Room," and include sculptures, viewings of previous Bond movie action sequences, and the like. The final area leads outdoors to an open-air platform with panoramic views over the spectacular landscape.

The 007 Elements exhibition spaces have novel names like the "Lair" and "Briefing Room," with sculptures, viewings of previous Bond movie action sequences, and more
Kristopher Grunert

Obermoser Arch-Omo has plenty of experience with alpine projects and also designed a nearby restaurant called ice-Q, which featured in the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre as the "Hoffler Klinik." That said, the 007 project posed a significant challenge to complete.

"Geological fault lines, the exposed location on the peak and the extremely short building span created huge challenges," explains Obermoser Arch-Omo. "The crew could not work for more than a few weeks at a time, therefore the people and crew on site had to work on rotation shifts. During the construction phase, the weather turned out as one the worst winters in the last 15 years, snowfall started in July, while in winter, storms and massive snowfall prevented us from getting vehicles to the site, so we ended up having to fly the concrete in by helicopter."

007 Elements was constructed during very challenging conditions 
Rudi Whyhlidal

Those who'd like to visit the 007 Elements in person can book tickets and learn more via the museum's website – just make sure to take a warm coat.

Source: Obermoser Arch-Omo

View gallery - 11 images
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4 comments
guzmanchinky
I was just there a few weeks ago. It is worth a visit, especially the restaurant/bar (expensive but excellent). The museum itself is cool, if a little cheesy with the interactive exhibits. The behind the scenes movies are good and the entrance is awesome. Make sure you make note of the time window on your ticket. But the absolute best is the view from the men's urinal in the small building below the main building. Literally looking out on the valley below. Amazing.
Nelson Hyde Chick
I wonder how many homeless people could have been housed with the resources wasted on this shrine to wastefulness?
Zork
Nelson Hyde Chick, how many homeless people did that comment help? It wasn't your money, so don't worry about it.
christopher
@Nelson Hyde Chick - go ask facebook: that's their HQ, behind all those homeless people NEXT DOOR in the foreground.
https://img.newatlas.com/unequal-scenes-5.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=max&q=40&w=1000&s=6b97cddcdd40069ef752476b706d61e4