Bird Observation Tower

The project is in Pape Nature Park, in Latvia, on the shoreline of Lake Pape. The site is a wetland, with water at or near the surface of the soil for much of the year. The site is on the migration route of birds that pass between Lake Pape and the sea.

The project is a proposal for a new bird observation tower, to replace the previous tower, which was struck by lightning and burned down. The tower has two observation platforms, each about 9 square meters, and a 50 meter footbridge. The tower height does not exceed 11 meters.

A stair wraps the outside of the tower, from the boardwalk to the lower platform and then to the upper platform. The structure is timber slats on a boardwalk, with the slats forming the tower walls and the stair enclosure. The platforms are open to the lake and the marsh, with handrails at the edges.

The tower stands on concrete piers, 30 centimeters in diameter, set into the wetland ground. The columns are 8 centimeter LVL columns, with LVL headers and lintels, and galvanized steel bolts and brackets at the joints. Corten steel is used at the stair and platform edges.