Iglu-Dorf History and Sport (Part 1/3) - snow sculpture

There was a lot of stuff to be made on this 12 day project. 15 hotel rooms, a bar, 3 restaurants and a suite, all from snow with some ice sculpture thrown in for good measure. While researching for this post I had so many images that I thought it best to spread them over three posts. A trilogy, if you will. First I will bring you on a journey through time and space to the bar and restaurants.

Igloo Hotel 2014

I climbed the Alps surrounding Davos, Switzerland again in 2014, dragging with me all my heavy tools; Chainsaw, Chisels, die grinder and all the other paraphernalia I need to sculpt with. There was no rest for the wicked as the very next morning after dropping my bags in my room in the ski-lift station at the top of the mountain I got straight to work. Martijn was already there, beginning in the bar. The warm weather delayed things this year and the building team was busy at work trying to keep ahead of us and make the other igloos which we had to carve. But for now, they had just the bar and restaurants ready to go.

It was nice to be back in Iglu-Dorf for more hard work and frustrating fun.

Martin and I had talked a bit already through email about the theme of the Hotel but I still had no clue as to what I would actually make. This year the overall theme was winter sports but for the bar, we would have the history of Davos, showing how it was first founded in 1865 and then a timeline showing how sports became such an important part of its industry.

Pre G

Way before Davos became the meeting place for all the wonderful politicians and oligarchs of the world it was actually quite a popular destination to recoup from illness and as an outdoor pursuits location. The landscape is beautiful in both summer and winter and the mountain air, although thin is as fresh as spring water.

Martijn made the sculptures in the bar and we both joined forces to build the ice bar.

Martijn's flat style worked quite nicely to make the timeline look like an early 20th-century illustration and the fact he could make most of it with chainsaw cuts helped keep us on schedule.

Table 1

While Martijn worked in the bar I got stuck in to the restaurants. In each one, I carved a different outdoor sport for which Davos is known. The first was a climber. I tried to bring some of Martijn's flat style into my work.

With one day in each room, I needed to move fast. My sculptures were quite simplistic but got the message across. The final light in these areas is much less than in my photos so going crazy on details is something that would not even be noticed.

Table 2

In the second restaurant, I made some skiers making their way down the valley. I thought it would be a nice touch that within each composition I use a few elements of ice. With the climber, I gave him ice climbing thingies and here I gave the skiers delicate ski sticks.

Uri Geller

I had whittled the ice sticks from some material left over from the bar and left this one standing against a wall the night before I was to put it in place. I promise you it was straight before but here you can see an example of what ice does at certain temperatures. It actually bends under its own weight. This is another thing you have to keep in mind when making ice sculptures in not so cold temperatures and something which I am sure has amazing creative possibilities.

Table 3

In the last restaurant room, I made a woman taking a ski lift to the top of the slope. This was one of the original ski lifts, nothing more than a hook you slipped around your waist and it would carry you to the top of the hill. It was a simple idea but it was actually quite difficult to make on the curved surface of the igloo.

Each year when we finish the bar we christen it with the first drink. It is always late in the evening with just Martijn and I left in the igloos. These moments are quite nice as we get to see if the whole thing works as intended and it gives us time to enjoy what we have created before handing it over to the public. Drinking at high altitude is always fun but finally, we must stumble up the hill, back to the ski lift station and then fall into bed ready for the challenges ahead.

Join me next time when I will show you the different sleeping rooms I made for the 2014 Davos Iglu-Dorf Hotel.