Our glazed lava gives a touch of pink to the summit station of Corviglia, St. Moritz: Atelier Zürich appointed us for the project of a big u-shaped lava stone bar counter in the newly designed restaurant “White Marmot Restaurant & Bar”, the exclusive location where you can dine and view St. Moritz from the ski slopes of Corviglia
Corviglia, the birthplace of winter tourism, also shines as a culinary destination, thanks to gastronomy pioneer Hartly Mathis who first welcomed gourmets and VIPs from around the world affirming the “Mountain Fine Dining” experience, and built his gastro-imperial spa in the mountain station of the Corviglia funicular.
After 50 years, the renamed restaurant “White Marmot Restaurant & Bar” is the newly designed exclusive location where you can dine and view St. Moritz from the ski slopes of Corviglia.
The restaurant, masterfully designed by Atelier Zürich, combines modern style, sports and elegant cuisine for a pleasing gastronomic blend on Corviglia that incorporates tradition and contemporary impulses.
The architects’ goal has been to meet the expectations and needs of both sportive tourists and people from the village equally.
Inside the main restaurant room, it was pretty obvious that the bar should be the central element – the new meeting point at the Corviglia, where the key element is the big u-shaped bar counter in the middle of the room:
The glazed lava stone bar counter
With Atelier Zürich’s words…
<<Glazed lava stone had fascinated us for a while and this project is the first time we had actually used this material.
The initial inspiration for the bar was an ice bar and glazed lava stone turned out to be the perfect choice to create that icy look.
Another big advantage was the durability of lava stone, which was key in a place, where people also enter in ski boots.
Lava stone can furthermore also be used in 3d shaped forms, such as corner details.>>
The inspiring idea of an ice bar with a vast artwork of an oversized marmot cast in artificial resin – the “white marmot” – drove the architects to entrust Ranieri Lava Stone with the task of creating a lava stone bar counter, made to measure and glazed with a custom color.
The U-shaped central counter involved the design of 80 custom-designed lava stone pieces, with a process of carving and glazing dedicated to each selected lava stone slab, destined to become every single piece of the bar counter.
Looking for the custom color
Together with Atelier Zürich, our team in Naples tested several glazes, looking for the perfect ad hoc color: it had to be glossy and bright, glam and gentle, it had to remind the icebar and its oversized mascot… and we came to this very pale pink enamel:
The project of a glazed lava stone bar counter involves the design of many 3D pieces
The design of a glazed lava stone counter is a custom product par excellence, which requires an appropriate work on the 3 D shaped tiles, dedicated to the edges and to corner details:
Our artisans are skilled to work the single piece of stone and the lava rock is ideal to be forged in 3D forms as it guarantees the technical specifications for mechanical and manual carving and for durability of the application.
It should also be noted that the glazing process increases the durability of the surfaces, and this is a key element for a bar counter in a public place, and it is even more for a restaurant of a ski resort, where customers wearing ski boots.
The making of the 3D glazed lava stone tiles
The making of custom 3D claddings, ready to be enameled 
Detail of 3D shaped lava stone cladding 
The making of the bespoke bar counter 
Stone 3D pieces are enameled one-by-one
The on-site installation of the bar counter
The design of this u-shaped bar was quite a challenge to build because it was composed out of many pieces, which we had to transport at high altitude, at 2500 mt.
At first, we planned a road transport by truck, but due to heavy snowfall, we then preferred high-altitude transport by helicopter.
We like to share a video about the helicopter transport of the bar counter (see more: here you can see the video of the helicopter transport).
We have an accurate insight into the most challenging projects through all stages of the custom design process to the on-site installation, which can be executed in arduous workplaces, as in the current case, where the coordination between our ground staff and the pilots has been a key point: taking care of every single piece, working side by side with the architects’ team.
The on-site installation has been perfectly executed, including connections for electrical, water, and drains.
The lava stone experience, from the architect’s perspective
As it was the first time that the Zurich based design firm experienced the lava stone, we’ve asked them to share their feedback on the material and its processing, and we are delighted to share the Atelier Zürich’s lava stone experience as they explain it with their own words:
<<Glazed lava stone had fascinated us for a while and this project is the first time we had actually used this material. The initial inspiration for the bar was an ice bar and glazed lava stone turned out to be the perfect choice to create that icy look.
Another big advantage was the durability of lava stone, which was key in a place, where people also enter in ski boots.
Lava stone can furthermore also be used in 3d shaped forms, such as corner details or sinks. But the end result convinced that the material choice was the right one and that we achieved to create exactly the look we had in mind.>>
Project White Marmot Restaurant & Bar Project Partner Atelier Zürich Type Restaurant Services Bar Counter custom made production & on-site installation Year, Location 2017, Corviglia St.Moritz Switzerland