Wood that shapes itself: the Urbach Tower

The Urbach Tower is a unique wood structure, the design of which emerges from a new selfshaping process for curved wood components. This shape change is driven only by the woods 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 industrystandard 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 selfshaped, buildingscale 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