The Bavarian Forest is the first and largest national park in Germany. It was opened in 1970 and significantly expanded in 1997, and in the mid-2000s its administration thought about creating a kind of tourist attraction that would not harm the flora and fauna of the forest, but could attract additional tourists. This attraction is the 44-meter observation tower Baumwipfelpfad, which crowns the Treetop promenade.
It must be said that the Treetop is an attraction in itself - it is a trail made entirely of wood and raised above the ground on special piles that help protect the park's soil from trampling down and at the same time allow tourists to feel closer to nature. The observation tower became a logical continuation of this design: in fact, the architect twists the final stage of the trail into a spiral, forcing visitors to slowly climb higher and higher (the slope of the ramp is only 6 degrees), so that one day they will be on the upper observation deck above the tree crowns.
The shape of the dome was also chosen because such a design made it possible not only to optimally integrate the new volume into the space between the century-old trees, but also to make some of them “objects of display”. In other words, after the completion of construction, three spruce trees turned out to be inside the dome at once - walking around them, visitors can observe how the trees change from the trunk to the top, what animals live on them.
And from the outside of the "egg" (although the park workers themselves prefer to compare their tower with the new dome of the Reichstag), picturesque views of the forest and valleys open up. From the very observation deck, to which wooden and rope ladders lead, you can even see the Alps.
The dome frame is made of laminated veneer lumber, and steel cables and trusses give additional rigidity to the structure. Along the outer perimeter, the "egg" is braided with a thin mesh that does not interfere with enjoying the views and guarantees the safety of people inside. A wide ramp makes the tower accessible to people with disabilities.
