Urbach Tower
Urbach Tower viewed from the south
Urbach is located in Germany
Urbach
Urbach
Location within Germany
Alternative namesUrbach Turm, Station 7 „Turm an der Birke“
General information
TypeExperimental structure
LocationUrbach, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Coordinates48°48′10.1″N 9°33′54.4″E / 48.802806°N 9.565111°E / 48.802806; 9.565111
Inaugurated10 May 2019
ClientUrbach / Remstal Gartenschau 2019
Height14.2 m (47 ft)
Dimensions
Diameter3.5 m (11 ft)
Technical details
Structural systemCurved Cross Laminated Timber (CLT)
Design and construction
Architect(s)ICD - University of Stuttgart
Structural engineerITKE - University of Stuttgart
Other designersWood Materials Science - ETH Zurich / Empa
Main contractorBlumer Lehmann AG

The Urbach Tower (also known as Urbach Turm, Station 7, or Turm an der Birke) is a 14 m (46 ft) tall experimental structure that serves as a lookout point and shelter overlooking the municipality of Urbach, Baden-Württemberg.

Description

The tower is one of sixteen small buildings constructed along the Rems river valley in the spring of 2019 for the Remstal Gartenschau 2019.[1] The design and structural engineering for the tower was completed by the Institute for Computational Design and Construction (ICD) and the Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design (ITKE), at the University of Stuttgart in collaboration with the Wood Materials Science Group at ETH Zurich and the construction company Blumer-Lehmann AG in Gossau.[2] The tower is open to the public and is directly accessible by foot or bike.

The tower is constructed from 12 curved cross-laminated timber building components produced using an experimental self-shaping manufacturing process. [3] This process was invented in 2018 by researchers at the University of Stuttgart and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology.[4] The self-shaping or self-bending of the wood is enabled by the smart assembly of flat, bi-layered plates where one layer is designed to intentionally shrink or swell with changing moisture but is restricted by the other layer while paralele fiber orientation. This results in extensive "self" shaping analogous to the Bimetallic strip. The shaping can be controlled based on the composition of the bilayer. [5] [6] [7]

The high curvature of the tower is unique for wood construction. It is used to enhance structural performance and to create a unique interior space with convex curvature despite the concave and sharp edges of the exterior. The structure has the appearance of a double curved geometry but is actually made from an arrangement of single curved cylindrical parts. The building is protected by a larch wood facade coated with a titanium oxide surface treatment that protects the wood from ultraviolet light.[8] Rather than darkening, this will cause the surface to turn a lighter whitish color over time.[2][9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "Architekturprojekt". Remstal Gartenschau 2019 (in German). Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  2. 1 2 "Urbach Tower | Institute for Computational Design and Construction". Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  3. ↑ Grönquist, P.; Wood, D.; Hassani, M. M.; Wittel, F. K.; Menges, A.; Rüggeberg, M. (2019-09-13). "Analysis of hygroscopic self-shaping wood at large scale for curved mass timber structures". Science Advances. 5 (9): eaax1311. doi:10.1126/sciadv.aax1311. PMC 6744262. PMID 31548987.
  4. ↑ Schwab, Katharine (2019-06-10). "These researchers invented an entirely new way of building with wood". Fast Company. Retrieved 2019-08-17.
  5. ↑ Wood, D.; Correa, D.; Krieg, O. D.; Menges, A. (2016-02-11). "Material computation—4D timber construction: Towards building-scale hygroscopic actuated, self-constructing timber surfaces". International Journal of Architectural Computing. 14 (1): 49–62. doi:10.1177/1478077115625522.
  6. ↑ Rüggeberg, M.; Burgert, I. (2015-04-02). "Bio-Inspired Wooden Actuators for Large Scale Applications". PLOS One. 10 (4): e0120718. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0120718. PMC 4383548. PMID 25835386.
  7. ↑ Grönquist, P.; Wittel, F. K.; Rüggeberg, M. (2018-10-16). "Modeling and design of thin bending wooden bilayers". PLOS ONE. 13 (10): e0205607. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0205607. hdl:20.500.11850/302193.
  8. ↑ Guo, H.; Klose, D.; Hou, Y.; Jeschke, G.; Burgert, I. (2017-10-13). "Highly Efficient UV Protection of the Biomaterial Wood by A Transparent TiO2/Ce Xerogel". ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 9 (44): 39040–39047. doi:10.1021/acsami.7b12574.
  9. ↑ "ICD/ITKE university of stuttgart build 'urbach' tower from self-shaping wood". designboom | architecture & design magazine. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  10. ↑ "Urbach Tower / ICD/ITKE University of Stuttgart". ArchDaily. 2019-05-23. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
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