The world’s first observation tower made from structurally engineered bamboo (SEB) and stainless steel could rise over St Louis, Missouri, after Luke Schutte, founder and CEO of ReNuTeq, worked with Sebastian Bildau, a world-leading tower architect, to design ‘The Bowing Tower.’
Inspired by the inverted catenary curves of the Saarinen’s Gateway arch, “the design has (possibly) been materializing in my subconscious since I was a small child, gazing in awe and wonder every time my father (Architect Dennis Schuette) and I would drive into the city,” said Mr Schutte, who operates the world’s largest and most advanced structural engineered bamboo facility.
Featuring multiple observation decks, the 111-foot (or 34-metre) tower has an architectural materials library, event space, and cafe. Mr Shutte revealed in a LinkedIn post that ‘The Bowing Tower’ is designed to connect with the city’s deep architectural history and serve as a meeting point for anyone looking to take in a great view of the Mississippi and the Gateway Arch.
“Thank you to world-leading Tower Architect Sebastian Bildau in Germany for helping materialise some of the finer details of the vertical pedestrian access and the unique combination of exposed stainless steel and SEB (structural engineered bamboo) for the primary curving elements,” Shutte said.
More about structural engineered bamboo
Global interest in bamboo has surged in recent years, with architects looking to engineer bamboo to design future buildings in environments that are not conducive to timber production. ReNuTeq—which has for more than 20 years been working to create the highest-performing species of bamboo—is tapping into a special type of bamboo (Guadua) from Latin America that is three times stronger than Moso (an Asian bamboo species) or any mass timber product on the market.
“(This) makes ReNuTeq’s architectural grade SEB (Structural Engineered Bamboo) products the strongest renewable natural resource available for the building industry,” according to ReNuTeq. The company said that bamboo is selected and processed in its purpose-built facilities in Columbia before being transported to its St Charles, Missouri (USA) and Frankfurt, Germany (Europe) facilities for fabrication.
- To learn more about engineered bamboo, which has the potential to be as dominant as concrete and steel, with its strength and availability making it a compelling solution for low-carbon buildings, click here for Wood Central’s special feature.
