Observatory

By now you have got a better understanding of the whole situation and feel eager to get closer to the glacier. Your journey continues up north but now you walk along the west side of the lagoon. Again, a belt of drumlins surround the edge of the lagoon.

The sky is getting gray, the weather is changing. A few snow­flakes drop down from the skies and the wind has started to blow a bit. The view over the site is suddenly very limited. After a while you can see a tall tower rising from the lagoon at a great distance. You aim for the structure. Gradually, the ground gets rougher than the soil that you have been walking on and the drumlins fade away. You are standing on a bedrock field. You are almost at the tower.

The observatory tower works as a vertical connection, offering the visitor to experience the view over the site, to get in touch with the floating icebergs, to access the small island in the lagoon or simply to take a breath.
A concrete core is surrounded by a lightweight rope structure that reacts drastically to the climate as well as it makes the visitor an active participant of the architecture. The concrete supports the inside platforms at the entrance level and the upper floors, letting down surrounding skylight between the platform and concrete walls. On the outside it supports the stairs for the circulation that takes it entire place between the concrete and the ropes. The stairs and the interior platform on the lower level are dynamic i.e. they react to the tides of the lagoon.
The ropes absorb water and freeze affecting the experience of the circulation. They support the stairs as well as being rahter elastic, so when the visitor wants to get a better view, he can open it up like curtains.
The texture on the interior is digitally manipulated where the surface gets rougher as the tower rises and the more exposed it is to light.

Status: Academic Project - Master Thesis (3rd structure)