Welcoming “Planet-Planai“

This winter season, the Planai-Bahnen invested approximately 26 million Euros to improve the infrastructure in order to be prepared for one of the biggest sport events Austria is to face – the Alpine World Ski Championships 2013. In the core of these efforts lies the “Planet-Planai“ that was officially inaugurated on the 26th of November 2010.

The new base station building of the “Planai-Seilbahn“ catches one’s attention due to its outstanding architecture – that was inspired by a folded piece of paper – and the concept of a so called “One-Stop-Shop”. The guests find anything they needs for their vacation at one central place. In the new building, the rooms for the organising committee of the sport spectacle and the impressive World Championship Studio with a huge glass facade had already been taken account of.
“It’s time to say goodbye” was what the “old” “Planai-Seilbahn“ base station building, constructed in 1985, revolutionary for its time, was told. The demolition work began on the 11th of April 2010; only 220 days later, on the 26th of November, “Planet-Planai” was ready for occupancy. – A new ear of tourism architecture and service quality in the Alpine region was introduced. Governor Franz Voves and Vice-Governor Hermann Schützenhöfer joined the inauguration in Schladming on Friday evening and found words of appreciation for the building, the commitment of all people involved and the whole concept.
The building was developed in close collaboration by a young architecture bureau from Graz, Hofrichter-Ritter, the constructor Planai-Hochwurzen-Bahnen and in coordination with the World Championship building authority as well as representatives of the Province of Styria. It is intended to represent modern times Schladming. In the development, eyes were put on seniority; the building is barrier-free.
It is a pleasant fact that domestic companies conducted the majority of work. (Over 80 % of all necessary tasks could be fulfilled by Styrian businesses).

Project description:
An oversized “Loop“ (based on the model of a folded piece of paper) coats the whole building and is carried by 74 diagonal columns. Each and every single column can carry 230 tons.
Inside the “Loop”, three connected complexes of buildings are situated. In the Southern most part (close to the finishing passage), the new headquarters of the Planai can be found; it hosts all enterprises and subsidiary companies of the Planai-Bahnen (360 employees). In the central building, offices for important partners such as Wintersportverein Schladming, Austrian Ski Federation or FIS are available. The Northern complex with 1,000 m2 of glass facade is accessible for guests.
Upcoming major sport events had already been taken into consideration. A glass World Championships Studio for TV broadcasts was established, and its quality can easily stand international comparisons or even top international models.

One-Stop-Shop:
The concept of the “One-Stop-Shop” is new. At this central place, the holiday guests can find EVERYTHING they need for a comfortable and relaxing vacation. “We want to make the best products accessible the easiest way possible” says Planai-Bahnen CEO Ernst Trummer. At the One-Stop-Shop, the guests can get it all done: booking a room, renting skies, buying tickets, booking rafting and hiking guides in summers or going shopping in a sports store with a high-level ski depot. And even the sanitary facilities set new standards; they are more than spick and span.