The nature reserve of Budapest is the Naplás lake and its surroundings, the floodplain of the Szilas stream and the Cinkota Park Forest. This area of outstanding beauty and rich wildlife has long been a popular destination for hikers.
The structure is simple yet playfully sophisticated. The mass gently twisting towards the sky, open-worked yet sculptural, highlights the site with its presence. The regular, yet unusual form brings variety and a joyful balance while creating connection. As you approach the lookout and then climb higher and higher up it, you are on a journey, spiritually. As we rise from the ground, we get a better view of the outside world, but also of the inside. The lookout is also a link between the earth and the sky, connecting man with nature, giving us the opportunity to contemplate and relax.
The spruce timber structure fixed to the concrete base is interesting for its mass: a "column" built on an equilateral triangular plan, which is both unusual and regular. The 27-metre-high top is a triangle corresponding to the ground plan of the lower level but rotated by 60 degrees. The two horizontal planes are connected by triangular front walls sloping gently inwards and outwards, and the wooden beams at the edges start and end at the apexes of the horizontal triangles. The hexagon, which is the result of the rotation of the triangles, refers to the symbolic link between architecture and mathematics.
The tower is a solid block up to the height of the first floor, with a rough concrete surface that opens in a gap. A reinforced concrete staircase leads up to the level where the tower's wooden frame faces the sky. Plywood glued wooden support columns rise from the three corners. The core of the tower is formed by a wooden staircase spaced between 12 wooden columns. The timber frame structure is constructed with custom galvanized steel fasteners and spruce lathing on the exterior.
As you climb up the tower, you can see the landscape from different angles between the gaps in the wooden slats, all the way to the top lookout, where you can enjoy a 360-degree panorama. The lookout tower, with its unique geometry, is proudly known by the locals as "Silas's leaning tower", and almost immediately became one of Budapest's most visited lookout towers.
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