When tourists and mountain enthusiasts want to travel from Goldau to Rigi Kulm on the Rigi railway, they like to embark on this popular outing with the cog railway at the Rigi railway’s renovated elevated platform. This well-frequented location also houses the renovated shop where tickets, souvenirs, postcards and small snacks can be purchased.
The new high-quality cladding on the shop facade in the historical building came from Schmidlin AG. This innovative cladding has been made to measure by the traditional Swiss company based in Oberarth since 2008? and its impressive features include durability, aesthetics, low-maintenance properties and environmental compatibility.
The surfaces of the glazed titanium steel offer many advantages, especially for facades on public buildings. One of their main strengths is the unsurpassed graffiti resistance. The glazed titanium steel surfaces also lead the field in terms of UV and temperature resistance as well as impact and scratch resistance, when compared with other materials. This was one of the main aspects why the architect in charge, Jürg Zimmermann, opted to use Schmidlin panels for the shop cladding on the elevated platform. “We examined a wide range of models in advance, but this product from Schmidlin impressed us in every respect.” In addition to the practical benefits and advantages, such as individual customization, aesthetics was another key factor in the Zurich-based architect's decision. Jürg Zimmermann: “The facade is always considered as a design element, too. The shiny surface creates fascinating reflections of the natural environment and has an interesting effect in this historic building.” That is why the Zurich-based architect deliberately decided against a homogeneous surface in a uniform color and opted for individual panels in different color shades.
This has ensured a visually and functionally successful combination of timber and steel structures in the modernized historic Rigi railway building.