Refuge du Goûter Stainless steel mountain hut in 4.000m height
The Mountain hut Refuge du Goûter was built on Mont Blanc in the French Alps. This egg-shaped building should harbour alpinists, who want to climb the Mont Blanc. The mountain hut is in 4.000m height and is managed from June until the end of September. During the left months the winter camp is open. All in all, the mountain hut is built for 120 alpinists.
The four-storied domed structure is praised as a masterstroke of construction engineering. The building raises the bar in many aspects. It is a combination of woodwork and energy self-sufficient high-tech. It produces water, power and heating internally and even has got an own filter plant for wastewater disposal. Power is produced by a 100m² power plant of solar panels and a wind turbine. That is why Refuge du Goûter meets the highest demands for environment friendliness and energy efficiency in ecologically sensitive high mountains.
Decisive for stainless steel as front material were some important characteristics: corrosion resistance, maintainability and impassiveness against ultraviolet rays and sudden temperature changes. Another very important aspect to use stainless steel was its low weight at the highest construction area in Europe. Due to the low material thickness 35% weight could be saved. With wind up to 250 km/h and a maximum temperature of -7°C the working conditions have been a hard challenge for processors – but no problem for the material.
Total charges of this special unique specimen amount to ca. 7 million Euro. Nevertheless the main part of this sum is covering transport costs for workers, tools and assembly parts, which had to be brought by a helicopter.
Quellen: WZV Rostfrei, wikipedia.de
