Doubravka Lookout Tower, Prague 14 Building Project, Czech Architecture Photos
Doubravka Lookout Tower in Prague 14
2 Mar 2022
Design: HAMR Hu? Architektury Martin Rajni?
Location: Prague 14, Czech Republic

Photos by Ales Jungmann
Doubravka Lookout Tower, CZ
The idea of enriching Prague 14 with a lookout tower was born out of an idea of the mayor of this city district, Radek Vondra, in 2013. He convinced Landia Management s.r.o. to join forces with him in order to transform this dream into a reality. They announced an invited competition, to which we contributed three different proposals, including a highly experimental one called Doubravka. And it won!

What is revolutionary about the tower is the use of a non-traditional building material ? thin twigs not usually used for this type of structure. We were inspired by natural forms from Papua New Guinea and real birds? nests. In order for us to be able to use this type of structure, we needed years of research and experimentation.
The lookout tower stands firmly on three legs. Easily renewable black locust timber predominates. Black locust is the best material in terms of durability, and it will require minimal maintenance. We used four kilometres of twigs, complemented by a spiral staircase made of larch and connecting elements from galvanised steel.

The construction itself was interesting and highly demanding. The individual legs were woven on the ground in a horizontal position. After load testing, they were raised u...