WSC-Tower 2019

Soaring majestically over the WSC Arena, the new World Championships Tower was not specified as an essential infrastructural facility for the hosting of the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. The idea and the design come from the creative team of MEISSL Architects in Seefeld. The objective behind this innovative project was, first and foremost, for Seefeld, as an Olympic and World Championship location, to send an assertive, sustainable and clearly visible signal to the world of sport and for future generations, not only during but also after the conclusion of the 2019 championships. Just as it did during the WSC, the 15 metre-high tower will continue to function as a central ‘headquarters’ so to speak, for timekeepers, announcers and race organisers of future events, perfectly meeting the physical and spatial demands of sports competitions offering unobstructed views of all that is going on.

Thus, it fulfils the original, fundamental idea of achieving long-term, sustainable utilisation as opposed to creating structures only suitable for use on a short-term basis. Inspired by the style of construction employed for the wooden raised hides used by hunters in the forest and by the gabled wall ends typical of old Alpine farmhouses with their posts and cross beams, the tower creates a totally new ensemble. Seefeld’s outdoor arena now boasts a positive, fresh, tongue-in-cheek reinterpretation of an authentic, long-established form of architecture. The work was carried out using modern-day carpentry techniques and, hence, offers a reflection of craftsmanship as practiced in the Alpine region.

Thanks to three glass exterior walls, the rooms in the tower offer extensive views of the competition arena. Interested members of the public too can enjoy new panoramic perspectives. Thanks to a staircase that leads past the platforms all the way up to the roof, the tower is accessible to visitors independently of sports events. At the top a viewing platform, complete with a Swarovski telescope, rewards visitors with a breathtaking vista across the Möserertal valley to the Hocheder mountain and beyond, over the Hohe Munde mountain and Wetterstein range to the Karwendel massif.