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The tower with a height of 37.7 ft was designed by Swiss architect Gion A. Caminada. The structural analysis was performed by Pirmin Jung Engineers, a customer of Dlubal Software.
Structural Analysis and Construction
The round columns consisting of silver fir timber were chopped down, treated, and prepared in the immediate surroundings of the construction site.
At the base, they have a diameter of approximately 9.4 inches and are tapered towards the roof, which they bear just as they do the viewing platform. The platform consists of planks that are 3.1 inches thick, cantilevering where the four lookout baskets are installed. It is directly attached to the log timber columns by means of brackets. The roof rafters are supported by the center post and the external columns.
From the roof structure hangs a steel ring on which rests the inside of the platform floor, and from which the spiral staircase is suspended.
All connections are built in such a way that they can be easily replaced after the service life has expired and without any influence on the total structure.
Stiffening
In addition to wind loads, the tower must be able to absorb vibrations from live load. As additional bracings or similar stiffening elements were out of the question for the horizontal stabilization due to architectural reasons, the columns were partially restrained in the steel ring in the roof. In this way, a kind of spatially effective frame was formed.
| Structural Engineering | Timber Structural Analysis Pirmin Jung Ingenieure für Holzbau AG Rain, Switzerland www.pirminjung.ch Civil Engineer Projekta AG Altdorf, Switzerland |
| Construction | Holzbauer Gebrüder Bissig Holzbau GmbH Altdorf, Switzerland |
| Architect | Gion A. Caminada Arch. BSA/SA Cons Vrin, Switzerland |
| Investor | Canton Uri Committee for the Reuss River Delta Altdorf, Switzerland |
