Look-Out Tower on Pyramidenkogel, Austria

Structures Analysed with Dlubal Software

Back to Customer Projects

3D model visualized in RSTAB and mode shape calculated in DYNAM (© LACKNER + RAML)

Tower full view (© Klaura)

Interior view of "Skybox" (© Klaura)

Customer Project

7 November 2013

Austria RSTAB Timber Structures Towers and Masts Laminate, Sandwich & CLT Structures

Structural Engineering	LACKNER + RAML Ziviltechniker – GmbH Villach, Austria vitrag.eu
Architect	Klaura + Kaden ZT GmbH Architekten Klagenfurt, Austria www.klaura.at www.kaden.cc
Investor	Pyramidenkogelinfrastruktur GmbH & Co KG Klagenfurt, Austria www.pyramidenkogel.info

In June 2013, one of the world's highest timber look-out constructions was opened in Austria, on the Pyramidenkogel, a mountain in Carinthia. The tower including the spire is 100 m high. It has four accessible viewing platforms, one is closed and three are open, offering a breathtaking view over the Alps-Adriatic region and the lakes of Carinthia.

The spiral shape being a symbol for growth and development was the choice of the Austrian architects Klaura + Kaden.

Another highlight of the tower is Europe's highest roofed slide with a height of almost 52 m. It is built inside the construction. Riders can reach a velocity of up to 25 km/h.

The structural analysis of this extraordinary building was created by the engineering office LACKNER + RAML using RSTAB.

Tower Construction

The structure of the look-out tower is composed of a spatial framework. An essential component of the main structural system is the frame structure consisting of 16 curved larch wood columns with a cross‑section of 32/144 cm. Ten elliptical steel rings with a box section of 440/160 connect the columns. The vertical spacing between the rings is 6.40 m.

The third supporting component of the tower building is based on eight diagonal strands which are steel tubes running from the tower base to the steeple.

Visitors can climb the platforms by using either the transparent panoramic lift or one of the two stairways. The loads of the tower's upper levels and of the tower top are transferred onto the eighth level where two girders are arranged with supporting cables, absorbing these loads and transferring them to the columns. The "Skybox", a closed and sheltered building unit, lies between the eighth and ninth level. Above, there are the open viewing platforms.

The time needed for constructing the tower on the Pyramidenkogel was only eight months.