Jun 2

Forest Tower, Schovenhorst Estate, Netherlands by SeARCH

SeARCH have designed a look-out tower for the Schovenhorst Estate, Netherlands, a conservation area home to a collection of exotic trees.

The tower is designed as a ‘condensed path with each facet of the promenade looking out over the forest’. Branches of the tower offer different activities: peep-holes, a climbing net and a small performance space. The architects installed  ‘a new piece of the forest’  at the top of the tower, rather than the expected look-out platform. The circular planted platform weighs 480 tons and took 36 hours to lift to height of 40m.

A stainless steel surface reflects the surrounding woods, to add to the ‘counterplay between tower and forest’.

Architects: SeARCH bv
Type of building: Viewing tower
Location: Putten, Netherlands
Design: Bjarne Mastenbroek and Elke Demyttenaere with Ad Bogerman, David Gianotten, Wilko de Haan, Thomas van Schaik, Gert Jan Machiels, Karlo Thornbury
Client: Stichting Schovenhorst
Engineer: Pieters Bouwtechniek Haarlem
Contractor: De Combi Deventer
Steel Construction: Schooten Constructiebedrijf Rijssen
Trees: BSI Blomenservice
Completion date: April 2009
Photography: Jeroen Musch

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