Elements 007 – A James Bond Cinematic Installation
The newest highlight in Oetztal – not only for James Bond fans!
In Soelden, Austria
Reading time: about 7 minutes
Today is the day: Elements 007 is officially opened in Sölden!
Last week Tuesday I had the great luck to experience Elements 007 before opening.
And I still do not know what fascinated me more: the simple, modern architecture – which was built in the Gaislachkogel, or the most modern technology combined with numerous film elements at an altitude of over 3000m.
Maybe I can make myself a clear picture of it at the end of this post.
To anticipate one thing: I am not a James Bond fan.
I do not say that in a derogatory way, but I just want to make clear that I am really neutral about this topic.
Okay, I’ve seen most of the meanwhile 24 Bond movies and can also say that Sean Connery is the best for me (these topic is always so nice to start a discussion …) but qualifying me for a FAN.
Last week, I was just a curious and open-minded visitor.
At the beginning; I have left the building, no building does not live up to the experience … let’s do it this way: I left Elements as an avid fan, not by James Bond, but the “experience” element.
For “Flachland-Tiroler” like me (originally from the Black Forest) alone the driveway with the “Gaislachkogelbahn”, one of the most modern mountain cable cars in the world, is always a spectacle. Especially if it rains and storms like last week (felt storm, but it can also be that it was “just” very windy …)
Past the IceQ restaurant, which was the scene of the Hoffler clinic in Specter, the simple, modern concrete leads us into the mountain.
There is consciously no picture of the “whole room” – this is an impression I do not want to rob you with a photo.
We enter Elements through a heavy steel door, no – we dive into the world of James Bond – authentic by the “gun barrel”.
Barrel of the Gun – the introduction to Elements 007.
Here the visitor is acoustically and visually attuned to James Bond.
We are “vaccinated James Bond” and leave this room after the movie sequence.
The next steel door opens and as a contrast to the narrow space, the unique mountain panorama is revealed on the Plaza.
The ball has so to say left the gun barrel.
Next station: the lobby.
The visitors spread around the “open fire”, the countdown is ticking … 59 … .9, 8, 7 … dutifully the countdown stops at 7.
In an exclusive film, Sam Mendes tells the story of numerous James Bond films.
A ramp leads the visitor further in … into the mountain, into the world of Bond.
You enter room 4: Lair
The walls of this room are covered with mirrors and canvases … and again – … ..9, 8, 7.
In a completely new and exciting way we see action scenes and dialogues here. It’s an interaction of the screens and mirrors … it’s a presentation like I have not experienced before.
Desperately, I try to photographically capture my favorite character of James Bond: “M” – the great Judi Dench. (Skyfall is, as you can imagine, not my favorite Bond movie)
I do not succeed – the sequences change too fast. It does not annoy me, cuz it’s far too ingenious.
Now we enter the briefing room. … 9, 8, 7.
Naomi Watts aka Moneypenny tells in this exclusive film how to choose film locations. Of course, in this room special attention is paid to film locations and scenery of Austrian scenes by Specter.
The landscape model in the middle of the room suddenly comes to life.
The Valley Passage – a glassy observation room opens up a breathtaking view to the north on the glacier road. I suddenly realize that I’m in the mountains.
From this point on, visitors experience elements with free time scheduling, the time schedule of the last three rooms is over.
Now every visitor can immerse themselves individually in the Bond world.
Next stop: the Tech Lab
As I enter this room, I briefly expect that “Q” comes around the corner and introduces me to my new clock. (.. which cleans all windows at the push of a button. Ha!)
Dear James Bond Fans: Now you can really dive into the Bond world.
Numerous movie props are waiting for the visitor. If this were a museum, that would be all there is to it: props lying behind glass, but as mentioned above we are not just in a museum.
Here in the Tech Lab, visitors and technology can interact. Many props are beautifully staged and the visitor can start small video sequences. In these sequences you experience the “retired props” in “their” James Bond deployment. They are brought to life in front of the visitor.
A large double door leads the visitor into the next room – the Action Hall.
After the dark technology lab, 7 floors below the MI6 building, an indescribable mountain panorama opens up before the eyes of the visitor. That’s right, I’m 3000m above sea level.
The gaze inevitably falls on the remnants of the James-dissected aircraft from Specter – you could not put it better in scene! Awesome!
The legendary, wild pursuit scene from Specter is shown in detail in this room: Procedure, camera vehicles – here you get an impression of how elaborate planning alone is for such an action scene, not to mention the implementation.
Ein schmales Fenster gibt noch einmal den Blick auf die umliegende Berglandschaft frei.
In the next room, the screening room, the Austrian scenes of Specter are presented. Here the puzzle pieces are put together.
With the collected impressions and the newly acquired background knowledge, one has a completely new understanding of these scenes.
Elements 007 finds a fitting end to the Legacy Gallery.
At the numerous Tourchscreens you can immerse yourself again in the James Bond Archive.
… and buy one or more exclusive 007 items in the shop.
Without realizing it consciously inside, I leave Elements 007 one level deeper than I entered.
Behind me are around 1300qm James Bond Erlebniswelt, not air-conditioned. This deliberate decision makes the harsh, high-alpine environment constantly present in the interiors.
So get dressed warm when you make your way to the summit. Yes, even in summe
So what is it that impresses me so much: the architecture, the state-of-the-art technology or James Bond?
It is the perfect combination of simple architecture and state-of-the-art technology in this special location, making the visit an experience for all the senses.
The Where: 3040m altitude in the “Gaislachkogel” surrounded by the rough, high alpine mountains
The how: simple, modern architecture
The What: interactive James Bond world of experience
A picture reduced to the essentials.
With a nice glass of sparkling wine in the Ice-Q, the experience can be reviewed again.
… of course you can do that in James Bond style with: vodka martini. Shaken, not stirred.
General information:
Opening Hours:
Summer: 12.07. – 30.09.2018
Autumn/Winter: 26.10.2018 – 28.04.2019
daily from 9 am – 3:30 pm
Ticket prices:
Adults: € 22, –
Youth: (1999-2003): € 17, –
Children: (2004-2010): € 12, –
The entrance fee with the “Gaislachkogelbahn” is not included!
Attention! You book an entry time, so it is important to plan the driveway with about 30 minutes.
Links to the topic:
If you would like to read more about the architecture, this link is recommended:
http://www.arch-omo.at/index.php/portfolio_page/bond-installation-soelden/
website of OBERMOSER ARCH-OMO ZT GMBH | ARCHITEKTUR.
Click here for the official site, with all necessary information and interesting facts: