Urbach Tower

A unique tower made from self-shaping wood, Remstal Gartenschau 2019, Urbach, Germany

The Urbach Tower is a unique wood structure. The design of the tower emerges from a new self-shaping process of the curved wood components. This pioneering development constitutes a paradigm shift in timber manufacturing from elaborate and energy-intensive mechanical forming processes that require heavy machinery to a process where the material shapes entirely by itself. This shape change is only driven by the wood’s characteristic shrinking during a decrease of moisture content. Components for the 14 m tall tower are designed and manufactured in a flat state and transform autonomously into the final predicted curved shapes during the industry-standard technical drying. This opens up new and unexpected architectural possibilities for wood structures, using a sustainable, renewable, and locally sourced building material.

The Urbach Tower is the first wood structure made from self-shaped components. It serves as a landmark building for the City of Urbach’s contribution to the Remstal Gartenschau 2019.

Project Team: 

ICD – Institute for Computational Design and Construction, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Achim Menges, Dylan Wood
Architectural Design
Self-forming Curved Wooden Components Research and Development 

ITKE – Institute of Building Structures and Structural Design, University of Stuttgart
Prof. Jan Knippers, Lotte Aldinger, Simon Bechert
Structural Design and Engineering 

Scientific collaboration: 

Laboratory of Cellulose and Wood Materials, Empa (Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology), Switzerland & Wood Materials Science, ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich)

Dr. Markus Rüggeberg, Philippe Grönquist, Prof. Ingo Burgert

Self-forming Curved Wooden Components Research and Development (PI)

Industry collaboration:

Blumer-Lehmann AG, Gossau, Switzerland   

Katharina Lehmann, David Riggenbach

Self-forming Curved Wooden Components Research and Development,

Wood Manufacturing and Construction

Project Support

Gemeinde Urbach

Remstal Gartenschau 2019 GmbH

German Federal Environmental Foundation

Design, Fabrication and Engineering Methods for the application of curved wood elements in high-performance, resource-efficient wood construction: Project Tower Urbach, Remstal Gartenschau 2019 

Innosuisse – Swiss Innovation Agency
Smart, Innovative Manufacturing of Curved Wooden Components for Architecture with Complex Geometry 

Carlisle Construction Materials GmbH

Scanntronik Mugrauer GmbH