A steel-and-glass observation deck that sits 10,000 feet in the air on top of a glacier in Italy just opened to the public — take a look inside Otzi Peak

Ötzi Peak, designed by noa* architecture studio, opened to the public in August.Alex Filz

• A brand new 360-degree-view observation deck that sits 10,600 feet in the air on a glacial ridge in the Italian Alps just opened to the public.
• Called "Ötzi Peak," the steel and glass structure looks out over the place where Ötzi the Iceman, one of the world's most famous mummies, was encased in ice for thousands of years.
• Ötzi Peak is a stone's throw from Glacier Hotel Grawand, one of the highest hotels in Europe and a popular ski destination.
• Take a closer look at "Ötzi Peak," which appears to float above the ground, comes with a glass-walled viewing box, and is free to visit.

Completed in August, 'Ötzi Peak' is a brand new observation deck located on top of the Val Senales Glacier in northern Italy.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Rising 3,251 meters, or more than 10,600 feet, above sea level, it offers sweeping views of the surrounding Alpine landscape, including an ancient UNESCO shepherd's trail and the Italy-Austria border.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture, Tourist office Schnalstal Valley

Val Senales is well regarded as a ski and hiking destination. It's also famously known as the place where Ötzi the Iceman, one of the world's most scientifically significant mummies, was discovered in 1991.

A stone pyramid marks the place where Ötzi, a Bronze Age mummy, was discovered in 1991.      Similaun glacier © South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology/Dario Frasson

Source: South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology, Tourist Office of Schnalstal Valley

To access the platform, travelers can take take a cable car from the the town of Maso Corto in South Tyrol up to the 36-room Glacier Hotel Grawand, one of the highest hotels in Europe.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

From there, Ötzi Peak is a 10-minute walk. It is free to visit year-round, and accessible via a staircase with a guard rail.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Made of corten steel, the observation deck was built around the existing summit cross and appears to float above the landscape.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

From the platform, visitors can "experience nature at its fullest: rugged, stony, with wind and weather – pure," architecture studio noa* writes in its project description.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Slotted walls serve as a guard rail while maximizing views.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Facing east is an angular viewing funnel that looks out toward the place where Ötzi was preserved in ice for 5,300 years.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture, Tourist Office of Schnalstal Valley

Written above its entrance are the words #IcemanOtziPeak3251m.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Emerging from the funnel, travelers can step out onto a deck with a glass railing.

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture

Overall, noa* wanted to create an experience where visitors can "become one with the mountains and breathe in the freedom."

Alex Filz

Source: noa* network of architecture