The Forest Tower – Camp Adventure

Camp Adventure’s Forest Tower is a unique attraction. And we’re not just saying that because, as a surveying consultancy, we’re proud of our stake-out of the impressive structure.

World-renowned news outlets, such as Germany’s Der Spiegel, French Le Figaro and Spanish El Mundo, have also expressed their recognition and enthusiasm. What’s more the tower’s architecture has received prizes, among others the 2017 ICONIC Award, in the ‘Visionary Architecture’ category.

TIME Magazine voted the tower one of the world’s 100 best places to visit, partly due to the compelling view, and partly due to the overall thrill of the climb to the top – first, through the woods, and then up the spiral walkway between the steel “weave”.

The tower is a result of close collaboration between a wide range of professional groups and companies. As surveying consultants, we ensured correct surveys and setting out for the various elements, and we worked closely with Stål & Design, the manufacturers of the steel elements from which the tower is constructed.

The architecture is unique, as is the structure. This meant that we needed to adapt our surveying methods to meet the challenges: the forest that blocked the view of our instruments and the hour-glass shape of the structure.

The tower itself is 45 metres high, but it is built on high ground, so the top of the tower is actually 135 metres above sea level. It is Zealand’s highest point, and that is not the only impressive fact about the tower: from the top there is a clear view for 25 kilometres across the landscape of Zealand.

But that’s not he only impressive facts about the tower:

The tower offers a 360 degree view over the beautiful southern Zealand nature.

Ramp length is 650 meters.

The trip through the beech forest, up into the Forest Tower and back is 3,2 km long and lasts approx. 2 hours.

The Forest Tower is built with corten steel and local oak.

The structure is a so-called hyperboloid form. The long vertical steel pipes aren’t bent, but rotated 120 °, giving a curved expression, like an hourglass.

There are 12 ramp circles on the way to the top of the tower.

The tower is constructed of 54 elements and the total weigth is 600 tons.

There are 7.750 boards.

EFFEKT Arkitekter are the architects behind the design of the tower. Other involved partners include Arup engineers, contractor Levi Jensen, construction manager Arkhus and the client, Camp Adventure Development.

The tower has three levels, each consisting of 18 elements. Each element weighs six tonnes and needed to be lifted into position with a crane, so it could not be redone once the heavy elements were finally in place. This is why highly accurate setting out was crucial.

To ensure this, we marked points at the top of each level and mounted grippers for the steel elements to lean on before they were welded together. The grippers enabled the contractor to hoist the heavy elements into position using a crane.

We conducted inspections at regular intervals to check that the work was on the right track.

Once the 18 elements were in place on one level, we made meticulous adjustments together with Stål & Design before beginning on the next level.

We measured at the top of each element while the contractor used huge threaded rods and other gear to move the elements a few millimetres at a time: in, out, and to the side. As a result, the elements are all in position within the agreed tolerances, as calculated by the engineers.

All photos of the tower by courtesy of Camp Adventure and EFFEKT Arkitekter.