Apple Seed Observation Tower

The Kommunale Arbeitskreis Filder (Filder Municipal Working Group) is planning the construction of a wooden observation tower in Stuttgart-Heumaden.
The open timber construction designed by landscape architects Planstatt Senner is inspired by the shape of an apple seed. Multiple levels provide views from completely new vantage points, allowing visitors to fully explore the subtleties of the landscape. The approx. 13-m-high tower was designed by Knippers Helbig as a latticed timber structure using bar-shaped wooden components. It consists of four layered structural levels, designed parametrically from inside to out. The primary supporting structure comprises three curved glulam timber trusses braced by horizontal beams. The latter also provide the support structure for the podium construction of the spiral staircase. The third structural level is composed of diagonal ring carriers clad with vertical external plates that are mechanically bent on site to resemble the curved shape of an apple seed.