REEDS

A new bird observation tower forms an elemental marker within expansive wetlands. A cylindrical perimeter of fine metal fins work reciprocally with a twisting timber stairway and circular viewing platforms that support and brace one another, operating seemingly fragile composite. Grounded in the surrounding reeds, the slender tower climbs to dissolve into the sky, and gently sway in the breeze beyond the bracing.

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The DNA of the proposal is derived from the landscape of the site itself. Although clearly man-made, the tower performs in a naturalistic manner, gently swaying in the breeze along with the surrounding reed beds. Its slender shimmering steel blades

The DNA of the proposal is derived from the landscape of the site itself. Although clearly man-made, the tower performs in a naturalistic manner, gently swaying in the breeze along with the surrounding reed beds. Its slender shimmering steel blades create a minimal structure that both blends in and stands apart from the environment that it surveys. The blades of the tower taper as they rise, so that the form begins to dissolve towards the sky and feels progressively more open as visitors climb higher. A covered observation platform provides panoramic views across the lake, its low soffit sheltering and shading occupants. A small flight climbs further to an open upper viewing level. Above this level the incredibly slender steel blades are left free of bracing to sway in the wind.

The tower is at once a still, calm presence in the landscape but one with an embodied dynamism that creates an interplay between nature and artifice to conceal its occupants obliquely screened by the perimeter structure. Despite the extremely expansive views from within, the slender blades allow the tower to act as a veil, hiding its visitors in the reeds.

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MANIFEST

to make clear or evident to the eye or understanding