Josef Stöger’s Bavarian Forest National Park Treetop Walk "Tree Tower"

With Easter, just around the corner, we can't help but see egg shapes everywhere! Celebrated as one of the most durable and efficient forms found in nature, the egg has served as design inspiration for projects far and wide. To take advantage of our temporary eggs-ray vision, we've rounded up some of our favorite egg-shaped building designs from all around the world. Hit the jump to see some great projects from architects who share an appreciation for the quirky ovoid form

project specs

Location: Neuschönau, Germany

Client: Erlebnis Akademie AG

Architecture: Arch. Josef Stöger

Services provided by WIEHAG:
- 16 arched girders, each over 40 m long

Photographs: Jan Sommer, Alice Alteneder

Project description

Walk 8 to 25 metres above the forest floor in a beautiful, natural setting and take in amazing views – visitors to the new canopy walkway in the Bavarian Forest National Park near Neuschönau are able to do just that. The 1,300 metre long footbridge ends at the platform of the magnificent Tree Tower 44 metres above the ground and offers fantastic and almost endless views – towards Lusen, one of the national park's highest mountains, from the one side, and towards the picturesque Bavarian Forest all the way to the Alps from the other.

The Tree Tower, designed by the architect Josef Stöger from Schönberg, features an impressively airy architectural structure and a unique concept for enclosing the three very old, up to 38 m tall fir and beech trees in the egg-shaped tower. 16 arched glued laminated timber girders (GL28c larch), each over 40 m long, support the 17 t look-out platform.

The glued laminated timber beams were positioned axisymmetrically with an angle difference of 22.5° each to form an egg-shaped spatial structure. The ascent to the look-out platform takes place via a 460 m long and 2.5 m wide spiral structure made of wood, which ensures that visitors with wheelchairs or strollers also have accessibility all the way to the top. Diagonal steel rods, bracing crosses and ring structures help to reinforce the tower. The complete reinforcement system was mounted to the back of the wooden arches and protected with continuous sheet metal to protect the tower against moisture due to its exposure to the elements. Since opening on 8 September 2009, the Tree Tower has become a huge attraction and has exceeded all expectations: More than 30,000 visitors came to the Tree Tower in the first four weeks of opening.

But visitors aren't the only ones who love the Tree Tower. Judging panels have also shown their appreciation by honouring the clients, architects and builders with the following awards: