Engineering with Snowcrete
The Hôtel de Glace is made of temporary materials engineering. Its primary construction material is not naturally fallen snow; it is too dry and airy for building. Instead, the construction team produces over 30,000 tons of artificial snow on-site. This manufactured snow has a higher humidity and density, allowing it to be packed into a substance that hardens to a consistency similar to ice.
Construction begins once the temperature stays below freezing for a week, often in early December. A crew of about 50 people works for six weeks to erect the structure. The first step is creating a five-foot-thick floor deck capable of supporting the immense weight. To form the walls and ceilings, the dense snow is blown onto large, arched metal molds. After the snow is packed into place, it requires a waiting period of about three days to solidify and gain structural integrity through a process called sintering, where ice crystals bond together. Once a section is solid, the molds, which are mounted on jacks and skis, are lowered and dragged to the next location according to the architectural plan.
Arches, Vaults, and Ice Blocks
The architecture relies heavily on catenary arches and domes, shapes that are exceptionally strong under compression. This design allows the structure to be self-supporting without any internal metal or wood framing. The finished walls are up to 2.4 meters thick at the base, providing both structural support and insulation. The largest vaults can reach heights of over 7 meters. The interior temperature is a consistent -3°C to -5°C, regardless of the colder outside air.
While the main structure is snow, 500 tons of crystal-clear ice are brought in to create specific features. This ice is used for the furniture, columns that provide additional support in hallways, sculptures, and even the glasses used at the ice bar. These massive ice blocks, weighing a total of 500 tons, are fused using a slush of snow and water which freezes and acts as a mortar. By mid-March, as temperatures rise, the temporary hotel is closed and carefully dismantled to ensure a controlled melt.