The motivation for erecting a viewing tower in Bruchhausen-Vilsen is the good view from the edge of the ridge of sandy soils into the glacial valley of the River Weser. It is possible to see as far as Verden and Bremen when the weather is clear. The tower is intended as a distinctive mark, a landmark for the collective municipality of Bruchhausen‐Vilsen and also as a destination for school outings and for excursions by other groups. With a height of 40 metres and a viewing platform at around 35 metres, it is almost twice as high as all the other viewing towers in the area.
The concept is characterised by its organic shape and by the use of wood as a reference to the nearby forest. The tower’s bulbous form and its spiral stylistic element running around the supports and ending in the rising peak are meant to create an association with growth-like motion, thus harmonising with the surrounding nature. The large intermediate spaces between the vertical wooden supports allow an all-round view while walking up the tower.
‘The Organic’ is a further development of a design by two students, Julia Flügger and Joana Kluhs, that emerged as the winning project in the competition organised by the Faculty of Architecture, Building and the Environment at the Bremen University of Applied Sciences, in cooperation with the German Association of Consulting Engineers (VBI). Andreas Schneider supervised this work in his role as lecturer for an interdisciplinary elective module for the Bachelor’s degrees in Architecture and Civil Engineering, and subsequently worked on it further in his architect’s office with the creators of the original design. The structure is to be built as soon as its location and financing have been clarified.
