Watchtower

Archello Awards 2024 has revealed its longlist for its projects of the year categories. The longlists celebrate the very best building products, architecture projects and firms selected from over 1,000 entries for the second edition of Archello's annual awards program.   Watchtower Einderheide: longlisted for Small Project of the Year Karl Banski Amsterdam-based architecture office NEXT Architects designed a 26-meter-tall watchtower in Bergeijk, Netherlands, offering visitors extensive views and experience of the surrounding forest. The structure also provides a habitat for different bat species present in the area. While the tower takes a modest form, the allure lies in its construction details which are revealed via curvi... More

Wangen Tower is the first multi-level and climbable structure to use self-shaped, structural timber components. The tower’s design and build is based on research from the Cluster of Excellence “Integrative Computational Design and Construction for Architecture” (IntCDC) at the University of Stuttgart. The tower was created as an architectural landmark and a pioneering timber structure for the Landesgartenschau 2024 (this large-scale, annual horticultural show takes place in different regions of Germany — the 2024 edition is in western Allgäu). ICD/ITKE/IntCDC University of Stuttgart (Photo: Nina Baisch) ICD/ITKE/IntCDC University of Stuttgart Wangen Tower connects the Landesgartenschau site in... More

Historically, watchtowers were built as a means of surveillance, a key part of a city’s fortifications. Towers used for this purpose continue to exist throughout the world. However, watchtowers in the modern-day sense are typically created as architectural viewing platforms, public spaces that offer a different perspective of the surrounding landscape. These towers are often sculptural in nature and designed to capture the imagination. The watchtowers pictured here are wonderfully curious constructions. A mix of materials, shapes, and sizes, created by architectural studios big and small, they sit in a variety of locations. The towers act as beacons and landmarks, built as must-see attractions and ways in which to revitalize communit... More

Located at a geo-strategic site with views of the area, royal road and streams of La Vega, Guadalbaida, and the fords by the Guadazuheros, Torre de Cbrilla is a historic watchtower formerly built for security purposes. The restoration project by Antonio Raso, Alejandro B. Galán and César Egea seek to revive the tower through minimal interventions and landscaping.  Juanca Lagares The structure comprises two floors and a terrace based on a practical square plan of 6.7x7.32m. Masonry and stone slabs form the loadbearing structure with buttresses of rope and blight ashlars. Additionally, all four sides showcase cruciform engravings.  Juanca Lagares Repairing the private access road was the first actio... More