"He who comes too late ..." - The construction site
"Forget 'Just in Time' and everything else you know in connection with construction projects!" Those were the approximate words of our client. What did he mean by that? Zermatt is car-free. Only the Gornergrat Railway leads up to the Gornergrat. And it runs strictly according to the timetable.
Construction waste? Deliveries? Must be planned precisely. Temporary storage? Not so easy either. So it quickly became clear how important planning, organisation and preparation are for the success of our project.
Deviations in the schedule are no obstacle in normal everyday project work and can usually be implemented quickly. When you're building an Experience Centre at over 3000 metres, it's a different story. Early arrival at the construction site or working into the night? Difficult. If you miss the train, you can expect an hour-long hike to the top. If there is snow, at least the way home on skis can be an experience. But without tools or material.
Speaking of materials: The construction required the transport volume of two articulated lorries. But what to do when the roads do not allow for conventional transport? Here we could benefit from the decades of experience of our construction partners on site. And we now also appreciate the advantages of delivery by helicopter twice over. A total of half a dozen companies were on site: from concrete and window builders to interior fitters, carpenters, painters and electricians, and of course our media technology and content team.
An additional "learning": physical work at over 3000 metres altitude is much more challenging than we are used to. When putting together the team, it is essential to consider the altitude suitability - not everyone can tolerate the thin air. And another tip: don't forget suntan lotion! The UV radiation is much more intense this far up.
The final phase became the spectacular highlight of the project: to implement the 360° projection, the content team's rendering farm was flown up by helicopter. After several days of post-production at 3,000 m, it was then possible to announce: Mission accomplished.
All information on "Zooom - The Matterhorn" can be found here.