Urban Viewing Tower | ISBA grupa projektowa

Walbrzych, a picturesquely located city at the foot of the Sudetes, selected the design of the urban viewing tower in an open architectural competition. The tower stands on a park hill dominating the city’s old town and, thanks to its height, offers a remarkable panorama of the surrounding mountains. Walbrzych is a historic city with a strong mining tradition, which was the main inspiration for the project.

Walbrzych is a fascinating place where industrial and mining buildings blend with the mountainous landscape of the Sudetes. Strips of forested hills separate heavily urbanised parts of the city. A new viewing tower was designed on one of the hills, rising just above the market square, the very heart of the old town.

It has the character of an urban tower, with a geometrically disciplined and industrial form, harking back to the industrial roots of the city established after the discovery of coal deposits. The steel construction of the tower is based on a regular hexagonal shape, surrounded by a series of stairways and observation decks. The tower has a total of six viewing platforms, the highest of which is located at an altitude of 33 meters (+495.56 meters above sea level). The outer skin of the tower is formed by an openwork membrane of expanded metal mesh made of rusted weathering steel. Viewed from afar, the tower becomes, expressed in an indirect way, a reference to the brick towers of buildings in the city, but also mine hoist towers or coke oven towers.

Carefully selected cut-outs in the membrane create viewing windows, framing selected views of the Sudetes. A ramp, winding between the crowns of the park’s trees, leads to the lowest viewing terrace, which is an additional attraction. The entire structure, weighing about 250 tonnes, rests on a special 1.5 metres thick foundation slab, ensuring the stability and safety of the structure.

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