GLASS & SEALED UNITS Extra
Proud sponsor of Glass & Sealed Units Extra
PEAK HAPPINESS OF A UNIQUE KIND
Since 2010 , friends Rinaldo Willy from Engadin and Pascal Mittner from Chur have set themselves the goal of making Switzerland known as a whisky nation and selected a regional production method for their whisky “ ORMA ”, which has won several international awards . The water comes from the natural springs near the Murtèl middle station of the Corvatsch cable car , the barrels from the surrounding wine regions such as Veltlin or Bündner Herrschaft . The product is stored in very different places across the region : in deep vaulted cellars of Engadin castles or monasteries , in earth cellars and timber yards in the Bündner Land – or in the grotto of the Corvatsch summit station . “ We wanted to make a whisky that brings our homeland and terroir to the bottle ,” explain Willy and Mittner . Each of their single cask editions therefore exhibits different colourings and nuances , depending on which climate or wine barrel they are matured in . The name of the whisky distillery also refers to the corporate philosophy : ORMA means “ soul ” in Rhaeto-Romanic and stands for its roots in the canton of Graubünden .
A special whisky distillery
When the opportunity arose two years ago to make use of an empty storeroom at the Corvatsch summit station , the two visionaries jumped at the chance and planned the world ’ s highest distillery . It sounds like a bit of marketing fun , but it really isn ’ t : because at an elevation of 3,303 metres , the boiling point for the distillation process is 10 degrees lower than at sea level . That saves money , especially as the temperature in the facility is also directly controlled by the cool mountain air . Of greater importance for the production of whisky , however , is the fact that the lower distillation point retains more aromas and a greater complexity in the distillation process – a unique selling point for enthusiasts of Swiss whisky .
Spectacular panorama
The location of the new ORMA distillery is no less sensational . Surrounded by the Bernina massif and the Corvatsch glacier with a view of the distinctive lake landscape of the Upper Engadin , a visit to the single malt whisky distillery is a very special experience for all the senses . Three days every week , there are selected guided tours with tasting for small groups .
To be able to enjoy the view of the breathtaking landscape to the fullest , and also to grant equally fascinating insights into the distillery , the investors opted for large windows with high-performance insulating glass units when converting the storage rooms .
Insulating glazing under extreme conditions
The windows were fitted with triple glazing with the thermal insulating glass MGTherm Öko Star from MGT Mayer Glastechnik . The insulating glass has the best thermal insulation properties and meets the highest requirements in terms of energy , quality and aesthetics , also given the expected extreme weather conditions at the summit station . All of the Öko Star insulating glass units are equipped with the high-tech spacer bar SWISSPACER Ultimate – one of the best warm edge spacer bars currently available on the market . It minimises cold bridges on the glass edge and considerably reduces the risk of condensation .
The high stability of the hollow profile of SWISSPACER Ultimate ensures extraordinary parallelism of the frame . The foil also ensures a long service life .
Construction site at an elevation of over 3,000 metres
The largest window element measures 4,900 x 2,100 millimetres – more than ten square metres . Such sizes were a big challenge – not only for the confined site conditions at an elevation of over 3,000 metres , but also because the window elements had to be delivered by helicopter . To handle the climate loads present while transporting the units up the mountain from the valley , MGT Mayer Glastechnik installed a pressure equalisation valve in the factory . This valve was then closed and sealed on site .
“ We now use the Ultimate as standard ,” says Harald Lerchster , authorised officer and sales director of MGT Mayer Glastechnik . “ The spacer bar simply impresses us with its excellent performance and an aesthetic , matt surface .
“ We process over 50 tonnes of glass daily for almost all areas of application in buildings – but we are sure to remember this project for many years to come ,” says Harald Lerchster .
www . swisspacer . com
80 SEPTEMBER 2023 CLEARVIEW-UK . COM