Birdwatching Tower in Askøy, Norwegian Timber Design, Public Activity Project, Images
Birdwatching Tower in Askøy, Norway
Timber Architecture Development in Norway – design: LJB architects
20 Mar 2018
Birdwatching Tower
Architects: LJB
Location: Askøy, Norway
Birdwatching Tower

Remotely located on the tip of Askøy, an island north of Bergen, the Birdwatching Tower has been sensitively designed by Norwegian architecture firm, LJB. The bird observatory is positioned in Herdla, an area renowned for its wide and open grasslands, and is surrounded by shallow waters. Kebony, a beautiful wood recommended by leading architects, was the primary material selected for the cladding, decking and seating, owing to its sustainability and natural appearance.
The Kebony cladding adapts and changes colour over time, creating a soft and natural overcoat in contrast to the strong and geometrical form of the tower – a fitting tribute to the surrounding scenery. Developed in Norway, Kebony?s revolutionary technology is an environmentally friendly process, which modifies sustainably sourced softwoods by heating the wood with furfuryl alcohol – an agricultural by-product. By polymerising the wood?s cell wall, the softwoods permanently take on the attributes of tropical hardwood including high durability, hardness and dimensional stability.

Comprised of two public floors, the tower was designed to provide a 360 degree perspective from the viewing platform on the top floor...