Wood that shapes itself: the Urbach Tower

The Urbach Tower is a unique wood structure, the design of which emerges from a new self-shaping process for curved wood components. This shape change is driven only by the wood’s characteristic shrinking during a decrease of moisture content. Components for the 14 m tall tower are designed and manufactured in a flat state and transform autonomously into the final, programmed curved shapes during industry-standard technical drying. This opens up new and unexpected architectural possibilities for high performance and elegant structures, using a sustainable, renewable, and locally sourced building material. The Urbach Tower constitutes the very first structure worldwide made from self-shaped, building-scale components. Project team University of Stuttgart, Prof. Achim Menges, Dylan Wood, Prof. Jan Knippers, Lotte Aldinger, Simon Bechert Scientific collaboration Empa / ETH Zurich, Dr. Markus Rüggeberg, Philippe Grönquist, Pro