At an altitude of 3,040 metres, it can only be reached by cable car: the 007 Elements museum on the Gaislackkogl in Austria dedicated entirely to James Bond. It is one of the highest museums in the world. It is designed entirely in concrete. Remarkably, despite the extreme environment, there is no heating.
007 Elements is made of nothing more than concrete, steel and glass. The materials were chosen to make the museum truly reflect the James Bond aesthetic. Behind the museum is the architectural firm Obermoser Arch-Omo, which deliberately chose not to provide the museum with heating or cooling. That way, visitors not only experience the unique, extreme environment first-hand, but also avoid giving off heat to the surrounding permafrost.
Visitors enter the museum through a tunnel attractively named 'the barrel of the gun'. From there, visitors descend to several exhibition rooms curated with Neal Callow, the Art Director of the last four Bond films. The rooms bear handsome names like 'Briefing Room' and display images and footage from action scenes of Bond films. The final room leads outside where an open-air platform gives a panoramic view of the spectacular surroundings.
Obermoser Arch-Omo has extensive experience in building in mountainous environments and also previously designed the nearby ice-Q restaurant featured in the James Bond film Spectre (2015).
The construction of the museum had to take into account fault lines, the location of the new building and the extremely short construction time available. The construction teams could not work for more than a few consecutive weeks, so the work had to be done in shifts. The construction period also proved to coincide with one of the harshest winters in 15 years, with snow starting to fall as early as July while during the winter the construction site could not be reached by car due to severe storms and snow showers.
The end result is worth seeing, though. Those interested can book tickets on the museum's website. Bringing a warm coat would be wise.
