New Grands-Montets Cable Car Stations

Chamonix / France

The Aiguille des Grands-Montets is nestled in the Mont Blanc Mountain range, and is the name given to the vast summit overlooking the village of Argentière which lies in the heart of Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. Standing at an altitude of some 3,295 metres, the summit was first made accessible by a mechanical lift in 1963 with the construction of the Grands-Montets ropeway. This ropeway remained operational up until 11th September 2018, when the intermediary station was seriously damaged.

The Grands-Montets project consists of reconstruction of the stations and mechanical lifts, and uses new methods of mountain construction befitting to such a prestigious and protected site as the Mont Blanc.

The ultimate goal of this project is for the construction site to be transformed into a sustainable site, in addition to changing the perception of the mechanical lift by taking passengers on a genuine journey.

a group of people are skiing down a snow covered slope .

This journey will begin with travel along a “reversible” cable car across the first section, using the original dual-cabin system with around 60 spaces, before continuing across a 3S gondola lift over the second section, using a device with two supporting cables, a single traction cable and around seven cabins with seating. The cable linking these two machines will be both physical and metaphorical. It represents the guideline of the design idea and aims to guarantee absolute consistency across all of the constructions.

a snowy mountain with trees on the side and a blue sky in the background .

a snowy mountain with a ski resort in the foreground

a group of people are standing in front of a building in the snow .

The four stations linking the cable car systems will be inspired by pyrite crystals. They will form glazed crystals with the structure being manufactured from a combination of wood and steel, forming a series of prefabricated modules perfectly suited to high-altitude construction.

The station peripheries will house all of the operational structures which will include inter alia welcome and service areas, technical installations and offices which will be housed in the most opaque sections, called “topos”, following a bespoke design particular to each site so as to fall in perfect harmony with the overall spirit of the location.