Case Study: Monte Rosa Hut achieves sustainable, optimized alpine design with VectorWorks

Monte Rosa Hut - Customer Case Study

ETH Zürich partnered with Bearth & Deplazes Architekten, the Swiss Alpine Club and Vectorworks to replace an aging mountain shelter with the Monte Rosa Hut, a high‑altitude refuge at 2,883 m. The brief: design and build an off‑grid, earthquake‑ and weather‑resistant facility that protects up to 120 guests, serves as a teaching and research platform, and demonstrates cutting‑edge sustainability in an extremely remote site with no roads or utilities.

The team used a digital “chain” workflow and Vectorworks to develop a five‑story, ten‑segment prefabricated structure flown in by helicopter, combining local timber, efficient insulation and precise manufactured components. Onsite systems include PV and solar thermal collectors, a rapeseed‑oil cogeneration backup, a 200 m3 underground water tank and wastewater treatment, plus a remote energy‑management system—resulting in 90% self‑sufficiency, MINERGIE‑P certification, CHF 6.5M cost, and reductions of 30% in elements and 40% in weight; the hut opened in 2009 and has since become an award‑winning exemplar and research asset.

Monte Rosa Hut

Andrea Deplazes

Professor of Architecture and Construction