Snøhetta designs cable car for Alpine town of Bolzano

The architecture firm Snøhetta has been chosen to design a cable car that will lead to Virgolo in Bolzano, Italy -- making its commanding view readily accessible for the first time in 40 years.

Located in the foothills of the Alps in Northern Italy, Bolzano has long attracted visitors with its cable cars leading to the peaks that surround the city. However, one area, the steep Virgolo mountain, has been practically inaccessible since the close of the city's funicular in 1976.

An international design competition has now selected the Norwegian firm Snøhetta to design a new cable car transit system that will link Virgolo to the city below.

Two rings form the basis of Snøhetta's design, with one serving as a base station and the other found at the top of the ride. At the base station, green landscaping will bring a touch of nature to the city.

The top station will house a restaurant, a café, an infinity pool and meeting rooms and will create a new place from which to view Bolzano, as well as opportunities for "exploration, recreation and relaxation." A new space called the Mountain Square at the top of Virgolo will be able to host events such as open-air markets and concerts.

Travel time on the cable car itself will be one minute and 11 seconds -- for a total of about five minutes between Virgolo and Bolzano's historic center, the Piazza Walther.

Architecture, landscape and interior design is to take place over the course of 2015, and the cable car is expected to be finished in 2017.

In addition to attracting tourists, Bolzano has around 100,000 residents and in 2012 ranked number one in a quality-of-life survey by Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore.