Images of BIG’s new corten steel Marsk Watchtower have been revealed, showcasing a sculptural design that offers users superlative views of the adjacent North Sea coast.
DNA helices inspire the 80-foot-tall observatory located in Denmark’s Wadden Sea National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The tapered structure increases in width as the spiral gradually climbs its way to the top and the 40-foot-wide viewing platform. Two sets of steps totaling 277 connect users to its base, which also contains a built-in elevator for increased accessibility.
The tower is meant to lure tourists to the Marsk Camp complex and will now make up the centerpiece of a program that also includes an on-site restaurant. A 250-ton concrete plinth forms the base of the helix-like structure with similarities to the 150-foot-tall Camp Adventure tower installed in the Gisselfeld Klosters Skove forest by Danish studio EFFEKT in 2017.
“Because of the earth curvature, visitors will gradually expand their view of the horizon while walking to the top of the tower. On the foot of the tower, you will be able to see 4 km into the distance, but from the top of the tower, the view is expanded to an 18 km view into the horizon,” BIG's Jakob Lange said in a statement.
BIG’s new tower joins Henning Larsen's The Wave housing complex and 3XN’s Blue Planet Aquarium on a list of significant buildings in the Scandinavian country inspired by nature that have been completed in the past decade.
101 Comments
Logging in just to say how incredibly ableist this is
It contains a built-in elevator.
And if that doesn't suffice, an accessible ramp will be built, starting in southern Germany.
It may have an elevator, a point that cannot be missed, the broader issue with the elevator is that it is a "point to point" experience, whereas the stairs provide the able-bodied a much broader experience. It's about the journey, is it not?
B3ta, just roll down the stairs after taking the lift up for the full experience.
Which raises the question of how the Staircase To Nowhere got by the ADA.
Fun (not actually fun) fact, airplanes aren't even required to meet ADA. There are so many exceptions. Some of them are infuriating & some of them are understandable.
"The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations ..."
ADA is not relevant to Denmark.
ok the DDA then.
Developmental Disabilities Administration?
If the "A" in "ADA" stands for "Americans", and the project is in Denmark... come on you got this.
(edit: but also Miles was referring to The Vessel, I believe?)
I am aware of the ADA acronym. Some of my professors at NCSU were involved early on in developing the North Carolina Accessibility Code. I don't speak Danish, but would not be surprised it the D and the second A would need to be replaced.
lol
I find it best not to give notice to bad jokes.
It was a good joke Brent.
Designers still haven’t learned from others’ mistakes eh? -caugh- Vessel -cough- New York -cough-
#rickitect
What mistake?
Yeah, the Wessel comparison is hard to dodge here. But the surrounding contexts couldn't differ more.
Maybe lower population and less despair will keep tragic incidents to a minimum.
I'd argue that this is much nicer than The Vessel. But perhaps more importantly it's also much *different* from The Vessel, and many of the problems with The Vessel lie in those differences.
WW II German Navy observation towers on the occupied island of Gurnsey.
Don't the stairs get smaller as you desend? Spatially it is still an invitation.
"Oh, look, a spiral stair!"
"Never seen one of those before."
"We should go. Says here they've got a restaurant and a minigolf."
¯\_(♿️)_/¯
Yeah, but maybe if it shoots people out the top like a cannon, it might not be so bad??
I L'd right OL at that one, n3ta.
What if the elevator corkscrewed as it rose? With little windows all over? Equivalent experience, imo. ;)
Just at the outer edge of the steps, a kind of chair or platform for a wheelchair, just like you have in homes with spiral staircases but exposed for maximum effect...
Where there's a will, there's a way.
Yes that kind!
I actually seriously like the sprit of tduds suggestion. elevator as experience isn't a new concept, and can be quite spectacular, I'd even appreciate it as an able bodied person and if it was designed well would love to use it myself going down (or up if I was having an off day).
The elevator experience is actually one of my favorite design features at the Broad museum in LA. The fact that they put the effort into making it an interesting element in the procession is underappreciated IMHO.
that said, let's not let the elevator that's the width of one wheelchair detract from the fact that this looks like a very profoundly spiritual and exhilarating experience once getting up there the able-bodied way.
To me it is typical starchitecture. Form without insight.
We call that "sculpture"
I have a more colorful term for it.
In the US there would be waivers and disclaimers to sign before entering. Not sure how this works in Denmark.
this is a lovely project but I cant help but see my daughter's Kapla towers when I look at it.
The wheelchair experience is an interesting point. TBH I would not have thought the elevator was unreasonable until it was brought up. Shooting people from the top like a canon as a remedy seems wrong though, you know, just intuitively.
Odd, it seems about the same height as the Wright Guggenheim museum in NYC. It is also an inverted truncated pyramid like the Guggenheim. Yet no one seems to have offed themselves at the Guggenheim.
Anyway, this BIG thing seems to have discounted the cold, the winds coming off the North Sea, and the rain that will make this tower unusable for much (most?) of the year.
Just wear a coat ya wimp.
The Guggenheim is an enclosed space. My read of the subliminal subtext is away from the atrium and toward the art.
The cold, the wind and the rain are to be experienced not sheltered from in this structure, you totally missed the point!
Catching pneumonia in a 30 knot wind in rain mixed with snow has never been on my bucket list.
back in my day we were thankful to catch pneumonia. at least it wasn't tuberculosis!
Volunteer, you don’t have to go and enjoy the elements, maybe best if you don’t you might melt ;-)
Volunteer- It seems like locations where people make an exceptional habit of suicide tend to have some particular qualities. As much as I think the Guggenheim is a beautiful building, It lacks a lot of things these other places have. In this particular example, it is very interesting that the demographic of people who have jumped from the Vessel is extremely young compared to the average age of suicides.
It seems likely that this location appeals more to younger people looking for a way out for some reasons we could only speculate. I'd presume the fact that it is a very social media popular building, that is easily publicly accessible, beautiful (subjectively), sited in an appealing location (subjectively), outdoors (which adds to the previous two items), and has a track record that people can do the deed there are all reasons that the Guggenheim does not have.
I don't say this to be callous, It's all extremally tragic. I dwell on these sorts of stories when I see them, and I know it could easily be something I worked on someday.
it’s just a f-ing watchtower, what’s the BIG deal this time?
Just mandate everything be single story with accessible entrances. Everyone will be safe and have equal experiences. Reach for the mud.
Jawn
found the BIG empoyee.
Wheelchair accessible observation tower on Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Built 1959 and recently refurbished. Second highest point east of the Mississippi River.
It's a beautiful project, but it isn't ADA-compliant. As this wheelchair-user-blogger mentions, it's doable with a motorized wheelchair but it would be too steep for a non-motorized chair.
Well, the structure is 62 years old (completed 1959). Guess today they would have to make the grade a little less. Viewed from directly above the ramp is a perfect circle.
The IBC landing requirements would have made that impossible.
Just a REALLLY long sloped floor Sneakypete... Really long. :)
And Mt. Mitchell, NC, Observation platform. Highest point east of Mississippi River. This wheelchair accessible structure replaces an older three story stone tower.
They go up and down the ramp exposed to the elements? The humanity!
Yes, they are attempts to off the wheelchair crowd.
Inclusive, site specific structures designed with an understanding of form, space, and behavior. Everything the BIG design isn't. Inclusivity as a value instead of an afterthought.
So inclusive North Carolina schools didn’t desegregate until 1971...
Which has zero to do with the ADA. Much of the nation was segregated in 71.
I’m not the one blabbing about inclusivity.
No, you're babbling about a totally unrelated topic. Carry on.
It’s not unrelated, does inclusivity not include race? Good to know your point of view on the matter ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I don't consider race to be a disability. YMMV.
SMH...Maybe first read to what you’re replying...it was about inclusivity.
Gosh, gee Randy, I did read it. I don't think I was the one that played a race card relative to accessibility.
yer a literal one, aren't ya
Me neither 8147...it was about inclusivity before I replied...and if in your opinion race is nothing to be inclusive about that’s all on you, good to know for future reference...
Not when the topic is ADA, so please keep on with your sanctimonious self and your serious bout of the AA.
Inclusive, site specific structures designed with an understanding of form, space, and behavior. Everything the BIG design isn't. Inclusivity as a (design) value instead of an afterthought (of the design). The parentheses were implied. You made a bad faith argument.
No. Your assumption that my post was a response to you is not correct. My response was to randomized for inserting a remark about NC schools in the 1970s, which was irrelevant. The fallacy of judging the past by today's standards is foolish. I was there, so I may have a perspective you are missing.
Randomized made the bad faith argument. I thought that was obvious.
@ra8147 This has gone off on a tangent where I don't agree with what you wrote. I don't respond to bad faith arguments and am not going to respond further because this is part of the original bad faith argument.
Not very inclusive of you to exclude yourself from the conversation ;-)
I will join him in an effort to promote inclusivity. Have an awesome day.
All this talk of accessibility ... but it's only focusing on wheelchair users.
How about a handrail along the outer edge of the spiral where the steps are actually manageable by anyone who might benefit from the use of a handrail? As it is, the only handrails are against the far inside where the steps are so steep that only the nimble would actually attempt to use them.
How about some contrasting stripes or nosings for those visually impaired that could benefit from being able to better see when one tread end and the next one begins?
And Braille on the handrail to describe the view: https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/europe/italy-braille-etched-railing-at-italian-castle-with-stunning-view-wins-hearts.html
I keep seeing that pop up. I'm curious to hear how well it is received by the visually impaired. I see a lot people raving about it, but are they visually impaired themselves or is this something that someone without impairment thinks is wonderful but in reality isn't?
As much as you may wish it were not so, there will always be placed that are not accessible to everyone.
So why try, amirite?
No...Always make the effort to be as accessible as possible, but don't whine when you cannot make a sheer cliff accessible.
Do you even think, before you open your yap?
Yes. You should try it sometime.
Are you comparing things built by people to things occurring in nature? Straw man alert.
No. I was using an admittedly extreme example. There are, however, man made structures at locations where accessibility is cost prohibitive or impossible. Where is the line?
We should be moving towards a future with fewer lines.
Your "extreme" example was insipid, and woefully stupid. Like you I imagine.
Your imagination is running away with you, and about as inspired as your commentary.
I don't need to work very hard, when the competition is as idiotic as you. Just like your moronic comments on prisons, you're out of your fucking league here as well.
ra, make your initial point again with examples that are under the purview of architects.
I have a project due Friday. Be glad to offer some examples after that. Beto, your ignorance is exceeded only by your vanity.
obligatory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
I prefer the Bear McCreary version...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BigolJfoANw
Can’t jump off the Guggenheim because the doors to the terrace are always locked. Just as Wright envisioned I’m sure.
And they can't jump into the interior atrium?
Do you know why no one jumps?
I had a fairly long comment above about this. Regardless of what someone might postulate, there is a reason, even if it's hard to pin down exactly.
Hopefully it is because it is such a beautiful, well proportioned, light-filled building. The inward 'bulge' of the ramps on one side of the space takes away any 'pinwheel' vertigo any visitor might have and is sheer genius. The space is also in a human scale. The height is 68 feet which, oddly enough, is also the height of the Sistine Chapel.
I think Volunteer may be right. This space is why I became an architect. I had a book on FLW that had a picture on the dust jacket of the atrium of the
Guggenheim on it. I pulled the book out part way on the shelf. It was the first and last thing I saw during the day. I thought it was the most beautiful and awe inspiring thing I had ever seen. Maybe people are so swept away by it's beauty sucide is the last thing on their mind.
I’d rather jump from something beautiful surrounded by nice art than from the vessel and create a Janet Sobel painting in the process, but maybe that’s just me...
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