Jübergturm

Hemer
Jübergturm

structural engineering, special structures  Services

Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel Architekten  Architect

24-meter-high observation tower with a load-bearing glulam truss structure

Project

The observation tower, built for the 2010 Landesgartenschau in Hemer, marks the edge of the town and the transition into the surrounding landscape. The 23 m high tower, widening toward the top, forms the end point of the “Himmelsleiter” (sky ladder), a stair sculpture extending from Hemer to the ridge of the Jüberg. The Jübergturm is a hyperboloid structure composed of slender timber elements and five steel platforms. The design’s appeal lies in the combination of structural necessity and spatial experience: as visitors ascend, the hyperbolic lattice shell tapers progressively in response to decreasing loads. Planning and construction were completed within just nine months.

Construction observation tower
The structure is designed as a hyperboloid composed of straight, inclined timber members arranged in opposing layers, forming a large-mesh lattice structure. The timber gridshell, consisting of a total of 240 glulam members made of Siberian larch, transfers all acting vertical and horizontal loads. The number of single slats per member group decreases from bottom to top in accordance with the static stress. By coupling the structure with horizontally arranged steel rings, a structurally efficient triangular system is created while simultaneously reducing the buckling length of the members. The structure is anchored into the ground by steel pins extending up to six metres deep. From a structural engineering perspective, the Jübergturm behaves like other cantilever structures anchored into the ground.

Gallery

Project data

Client Stiftung der Sparkasse Hemer

Architect Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel Architekten

Finalization 2010

Project data Span 6-9 m
Height 23 m

Services structural engineering, special structures

Awards best architects 14 - Auszeichnung "Sonstige Bauten", Mies v. d. Rohe Award 2011, Nominierung, Emerging Architecture 2013, Auszeichnung guter Bauten 2010 - BDA Arnsberg-Südwestfalen