{"id":678300,"date":"2026-11-08T04:22:13","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T04:22:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/678300\/"},"modified":"2026-11-08T04:22:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T04:22:13","slug":"observation-tower-made-of-timber-and-translucent-fabric-sits-on-french-hillside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/678300\/","title":{"rendered":"observation tower made of timber and translucent fabric sits on french hillside"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>GABU ERECTS HAND-BUILT TIMBER OBSERVATION TOWER IN VAUD\u00c9MONT<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Designed and built by architecture studio GABU for the 2021 edition of L\u2019\u00c9cho du Marteau, a festival dedicated to architectural experimentation, Brunebasse is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/temporary-pavilions\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">temporary<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/observatory-architecture-and-design\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">observation tower<\/a> sited on a hillside in Vaud\u00e9mont, northeastern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/architecture-in-france\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">France<\/a>. Positioned directly opposite the heavy stone remains of Brunehaut, a medieval ruined keep, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/interactive-installation\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">installation<\/a> establishes a formal counterpoint to its historic neighbor. Rather than replicating the monument\u2019s defensive masonry and mass, the project employs a light, permeable structural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/wood-and-timber-architecture\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">timber<\/a> grid that prioritizes panoramic visibility over interior enclosure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/gabu-frames-the-french-landscape-with-nonmechanical-built-timber-and-translucent-observation-tower-1.jpeg\" alt=\"close-up view of the timber observation tower wrapped in translucent sand-colored textile panels \" width=\"818\" height=\"545\"\/>all images \u00a9Atelier GABU<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>TRANSLUCENT TEXTILE VEIL covers LIGHTWEIGHT TIMBER framework<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\" data-path-to-node=\"2,0\">Atelier GABU\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ateliergabu.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">architects<\/a> hand-assembled the elevated timber viewing platform without mechanical tools, framing the structure as a case study in material economy and low-impact fabrication. Slender dimensional lumber is joined through direct mechanical connections to establish an open tectonic frame. Sections of the exterior envelope are wrapped in a semi-transparent textile veil that filters natural light while maintaining visual transparency toward the adjacent fields and tree canopy. Throughout the day, the shifting sun projects the diagonal bracing members as geometric shadow patterns onto the fabric scrim, rendering the structural logic legible from both the interior deck and the exterior landscape.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/gabu-frames-the-french-landscape-with-nonmechanical-built-timber-and-translucent-observation-tower-7.jpeg\" alt=\"view of the slender, open-grid timber observation tower wrapped in translucent sand-colored textile panels\" width=\"818\" height=\"1091\"\/>Brunebasse is a temporary timber observation tower designed and hand-built by Atelier GABU<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/gabu-frames-the-french-landscape-with-nonmechanical-built-timber-and-translucent-observation-tower-2.jpeg\" alt=\"view from inside the timber structure highlighting the translucent fabric and shados patterns across it\" width=\"818\" height=\"1091\"\/>semi-transparent textile membranes wrap select bays of the timber structure<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GABU ERECTS HAND-BUILT TIMBER OBSERVATION TOWER IN VAUD\u00c9MONT \u00a0 Designed and built by architecture studio GABU for the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":678301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[17921,307,304,305,306,308,93,61,6640,60,71066,30339,12647],"class_list":["post-678300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-architecture-in-france","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-interactive-installation","tag-ireland","tag-observatory-architecture-and-design","tag-temporary-pavilions","tag-wood-and-timber-architecture-and-design"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=678300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/678300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/678301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=678300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=678300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=678300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}