Urbach Tower
URBACH TOWER
ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart
ARCHITECTS
ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart
BLUMER LEHMANN AG, GOSSAU, SWITZERLAND
Katharina Lehmann, David Riggenbach
LABORATORY OF CELLULOSE AND WOOD MATERIALS, EMPA & WOOD MATERIALS SCIENCE, ETH ZURICH
Markus Rüggeberg, Philippe Grönquist, I. Burgert
INSTITUTE OF BUILDING STRUCTURES AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN, UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART
Jan Knippers, Lotte Aldinger, Simon Bechert Structural Design and Engineering
INSTITUTE FOR COMPUTATIONAL DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION, UNIVERSITY OF STUTTGART
Dylan Wood Architectural Design Self-forming Curved Wooden Components Research and Development, Achim Menges
MANUFACTURERS
Blumer Lehmann
PHOTOGRAPHS
ICD/ITKE, Empa
YEAR
2019
LOCATION
Urbach, Germany
CATEGORY
Installations & Structures
Text description provided by architect.
The Urbach Tower is a unique wood structure. The design of the tower emerges from a new self-shaping process of the curved wood components.
This pioneering development constitutes a paradigm shift in timber manufacturing from elaborate and energy-intensive mechanical forming processes that require heavy machinery to a process where the material shapes entirely by itself.
This shape change is only driven by the wood’s characteristic shrinking during a decrease of moisture content.
Components for the 14 m tall tower are designed and manufactured in a flat state and transform autonomously into the final predicted curved shapes during the industry-standard technical drying.
This opens up new and unexpected architectural possibilities for wood structures, using a sustainable, renewable, and locally sourced building material.
The Urbach Tower is the first wood structure made from self-shaped components.
It serves as a landmark building for the City of Urbach’s contribution to the Remstal Gartenschau 2019.
