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Architects: Wolfgang Ott Architekt BDA
- Area: 250 m²
- Year: 2022
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Photographs:Timon Ott
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Manufacturers: Carl Stahl ARC, Rinn Beton, Willy Meyer+Sohn GmbH+Co. KG
Text description provided by the architects. Experiencing the Hardtbergturm means leaving everyday life behind, clearing the mind, and letting your gaze wander over the treetops and the characteristic landscape of the region at a height of 26.60 meters. From here you can discover the castles of Königstein, Falkenstein, and Kronberg, the slopes of the Taunus with the Feldberg and the Altkönig as well as the plain along the Main with its center Frankfurt and its airport from a new perspective. On clear days, you can even look all the way to the Black Forest.
The Hardtbergturm stands in the forest in Königstein on top of the Hardtberg with an elevation of 409 m. The tower is based on the shape of an ellipse and is designed as a pure steel construction with a total weight of around 80 tons. In plan, the tower is 8.95 m long, 5.95 m wide, and has a maximum height of 32.30 m at the top. It rests on a likewise elliptical base with a seating platform made of exposed concrete that invites visitors to linger.
The tower is braced by the form-giving supporting structure with its characteristic, diagonally running and intersecting circular columns. The columns form a spatial framework and together with the levels the forces are transferred into the reinforced concrete foundation slab.
The observation tower is divided into four exploration levels and an observation platform. Thus, in addition to the view into the distance, the insight into flora and fauna is made possible. The levels are accessed through five double-flight and suspended staircases in the center of the tower, each with a semicircular landing. The direction of the stairs changes on each level. As a result, all levels are included in the path and serve as individual independent stations on the way up.
Load-bearing sheet steel stringers along the flights of stairs and the landings in combination with sheet steel railings on the levels guide and protect the path to the crown, which is accompanied by a continuous stainless steel handrail. The stairs in combination with the massive level railings are visible from afar as a sign of the way to the top and indicate its function as an observation tower from a distance.
Through its oval floor plan, the exploration levels, the alternating two-flight staircases, and the striking external supporting structure, the tower becomes an experience space of its own.
A significant influence on the appearance of the observation tower - in addition to the open design - is the uniform silk-gray paint, which depending on the weather merges or contrasts with the sky.
