Urban Viewing Tower by ISBA grupa projektowa

Perched on one of the wooded hills that structure the city of Wałbrzych, the Urban Viewing Tower by ISBA Grupa Projektowa redefines how architecture can bridge industrial heritage with natural topography. Wałbrzych, located at the foot of the Sudetes mountain range in southwestern Poland, is a city shaped by coal mining and dramatic terrain. Its urban fabric alternates between dense pockets of development and steep, forested slopes. The new tower, selected through an open architectural competition, crowns a park hill just above the old town’s central market square. Thanks to its elevated placement, it offers expansive viewpoints across the city and the surrounding mountain landscape, establishing a new civic icon rooted in both past and present.

Industrial Form Echoing the City’s Mining Past

The design draws deeply from the city’s mining legacy. Wałbrzych’s history is marked by powerful industrial structures—brick towers, steel hoists, and processing facilities—that once dominated the skyline. ISBA’s concept embraces these references, interpreting them through a contemporary architectural lens. The tower’s geometry is based on a strict hexagonal plan, generating a form that feels simultaneously engineered and sculptural. Its steel skeleton rises in a disciplined vertical rhythm, clearly expressing its construction logic while paying homage to the structural clarity of mining infrastructure.

Around the hexagonal core, a sequence of staircases and elevated platforms spiral upward, establishing a dynamic relationship between movement and view. As visitors climb, the tower’s industrial expression becomes more apparent: its exposed joints, visible diagonals, and repetitive steel components reinforce the engineered aesthetic. This disciplined geometry allows the structure to feel familiar within Wałbrzych’s material culture while presenting a refined visual identity.

Weathering Steel as a Contemporary Interpretation

A defining characteristic of the tower is its outer membrane of expanded weathering steel mesh. Over time, the material develops a rich rust-toned patina, creating a natural camouflage that echoes the earthy hues of both brick industrial buildings and the forested slopes surrounding it. This porous cladding forms a veil that partially obscures and reveals the interior structure, creating a sense of depth when viewed up close and turning the entire tower into a warm, glowing silhouette when seen from afar.

Strategically placed openings in the mesh frame curated views of the Sudetes, the city’s rooftops, and the rolling landscape. These apertures transform the ascent into a sequence of spatial experiences—sometimes enclosed and filtered, other times open and expansive. The interplay of transparency and opacity also casts shifting shadows across the platforms, enhancing the sensory impact of the journey.

Six Platforms Offering Layered Urban and Natural Perspectives

The tower features six viewing platforms positioned at incrementally higher elevations. The highest, reaching 33 meters above ground and standing at +495.56 meters above sea level, offers a panoramic 360-degree perspective of Wałbrzych’s distinctive geography. The city’s pattern—dense urban enclaves separated by green ridges—becomes legible from this height, revealing the unique relationship between settlement and landscape that has shaped the region.

Each platform provides a slightly different framing of the terrain, encouraging visitors to pause, look outward, and understand their surroundings from varied vantage points. The stepped arrangement ensures that every level feels individual, turning the ascent into a progression of discovery rather than a singular endpoint.

A gently sloping ramp winds through the surrounding trees, leading visitors to the lowest terrace. This pathway integrates the tower into the natural park setting, offering an accessible and atmospheric approach. Walking beneath the canopy heightens the transition from forest floor to elevated view, reinforcing the design’s sensitivity to the site’s natural assets.

Structural Integrity Rooted in Engineering Precision

Although the tower appears lightweight and porous from a distance, its construction demanded robust engineering. The entire 250-tonne structure is anchored by a 1.5-meter-thick reinforced concrete foundation slab, ensuring stability on the sloped terrain and resistance to strong winds. The hexagonal configuration, combined with the steel bracing system, distributes loads evenly, allowing the tower to remain slender without compromising safety.

The expanded metal mesh also contributes to the structural logic, acting as both a protective enclosure and a visually unifying element. Its industrial materiality reinforces the conceptual link to mining architecture, while its translucency softens the mass, allowing the tower to resonate with the surrounding woodland rather than overpower it.

A Contemporary Civic Gesture for Wałbrzych

More than an observation point, the Urban Viewing Tower represents a symbolic step in Wałbrzych’s cultural evolution. It acknowledges the city’s industrial past without nostalgia, instead transforming inherited architectural language into a progressive public landmark. Its placement above the old town connects historical layers with a renewed civic identity, inviting residents and visitors to rediscover the city from a heightened perspective.

By merging industrial heritage, mountainous landscape, and contemporary design, ISBA Grupa Projektowa has crafted an architectural statement that feels both grounded and aspirational. The tower stands as an urban beacon—one that celebrates the character of Wałbrzych while offering a compelling new way to view and experience its terrain.

Photography: Maciej Ławniczak & Julia Śliwka