Snøhetta's proposal for the new Museum Quarter in Bolzano seems to have something for everyone. Not only is its design stunningly beautiful—plus, it overlooks the dramatic scenery of the nearby Dolomites—but it could also house Ötzi, the world's most famous iceman. The design is fashioned in Snøhetta's distinctive white-toned exterior. The building will be located near the top of the Virgl mountain, overlooking the South Tyrolean capital of Bolzano in northern Italy. Understandably, this makes the museum a bit difficult to reach. That's why Snøhetta is connecting the museum to the city of Bolzano by way of a cable car system.

The roof of the new museum would provide visitors uninhibited views of the surrounding mountains and the town of Bolzano below.

Snøhetta's proposal for Museum Quarter, as the new institution is named, is situated as an elongated structure, one that projects out from the mountain. This was done to mimic the topography of the mountain itself as a way to seamlessly blend to the surroundings. The museum will include a roof terrace that will allow visitors spectacular views of the immediate surroundings as well as Bolzano below in the distance. If the project is approved, plans are already in place to further develop the area around the museum to allow visitors to hike or bike nearby the structure.

A rendering shows what scientists believe Ötzi would have looked like.

But the main reason people will take the cable car up into the mountains will likely be to see the remains of one ancient man. Ötzi, whose body will be on display for the public, was an iceman who died some 5,300 years ago. Due to the location of his death (which was in the Ötztal Alps, roughly 37 miles north of the proposed museum site), Ötzi body remained in a perfect temperate state in the mountains, some 10,530 feet above sea level. He wasn't too far up the mountain where the extreme temperatures would've harmed the body over time, nor was he too far down where the body would've been more exposed to animals and insects. In essence, Ötzi's body lay in rest, topographically speaking, in a sweet spot, for thousands of years, until two German tourists stumbled upon him in 1991. His discovery marked Europe's oldest-known natural human mummy, and more importantly, perhaps, was the fact that much of his body remained intact. This allowed scientists to understand what his diet consisted of (meat, grains, and fruit), how he died (bled to death after being struck by an arrow), and how much body art he had (over 60 tattoos). Ultimately, Ötzi's discovery provided scientists the clearest picture of Europeans living during the Copper Age (3500 to 2300 BC). "Visitors can meet Ötzi the Iceman on top of the Virgl mountain, a place with a historic atmosphere," said Kjetil Trædal Thorsen, founding partner of Snøhetta, in a statement.