Stauwerke

Icons of renewable energy
The around 200 retention walls weirs and dams of the Swiss Alps are among the most visibly prominent monuments of Switzerland's economic success story These pioneering structures of industrialization and electricity generation still play a major role today. They are nearly indestructible, low-maintenance and built to last eternally.

As monumental sculptures, these wonders of structural engineering emanate an almost sacral aura of peace. With the enormous bulk, some walls constitute powerful elements in their landscape that they dominate, while others almost seamlessly merge with their surroundings and contribute a lake to enhance the quality of the natural setting.

Photographer Simon Walther is positively mesmerized by the esthetic beauty. Fascinated by the interplay of nature and technology in the harsh conditions of the alpine climate, he us unconventional picture details and perspectives to artistically stage the energy