The Nightingale, by the Danish author Hans Christian Anderson, is about an Emperor who loves the song of a nightingale and has a mechanical bird made, which he ends up preferring to the real thing. The mechanical one breaks down, the Emperor gets sick, and the real nightingale comes to rescue him with his beautiful song. A theme of the story is that nature will provide for us forever, and suggest we not forget it in the face of incredible man-made objects. It is a wonderful children's story with implications for everyone, especially nowadays where the gift of nature is often overlooked for technological advances and culture.
There is a larger than life Hans Christian Anderson statue in Copenhagen and if you were to travel an hour south of the capital of Denmark, you could see an interesting twist on the popular children's story - an incredible piece of architecture whose very purpose is to give people an appreciation of the nature that is often forgotten. It is called the Camp Adventure Forest Tower and was included in the Top 100 Places to Visit in the World by Time Magazine. Admission to the tower is about $20 and takes visitors on a spiral path up its hourglass shape to culminate at a 360 degree unobstructed view of the forest and surroundings.
"On a clear day, you can see Copenhagen and its tall buildings, which is about 37 miles in the distance," says Business Developer Kasper Larsen. The tower opened to the public on March 31st, 2019 and is designed to look like it is a part of nature.
The structure has won many awards prior to its completion including the Winner of the Visionary Architecture category by ICONIC in 2017 and Best of the Best in Concept category by the German Design Council. It is unique in that it keeps a fixed gradient all the way up, but fluctuates in geometry and spacing according to the curve of the structure itself.
Interesting perspective of the spiral architecture that raises the tower [Photo Credit: EFFEKT, Camp Adventure, Rasmus Hjortshoj]
EFFEKT Architects, who designed the tower, states, "“The tower is shaped to enhance the experience of the visitor, shunning the typical cylindrical shape in favor of a curved profile with a slender waist and enlarged base and crown. This allows for better contact to the forest canopy moving up through the tower.” Essentially, the shape of the tower looks like an hourglass, where the skinny part is about where the leaves of the trees are, thereby allowing people to view nature all the way up from different perspectives.
The original purpose for building the tower came from a desire to make Camp Adventure accessible to all. "We have had a climbing park that primarily appeals to a younger crowd or young families - groups that are ages 18-35 - so we wanted something that appealed to a broader audience," Larsen explains. They noticed that countries like Germany were having great success with towers in forests so they went to see some and were impressed by the diversity of clientele who went up the towers.
Camp Adventure got a lot of press attention since starting to build the tower a few years ago, so when they opened they expected to have great popularity, as it is the only one of its kind in Scandinavia, however it surpassed expectations. "It is easily our most popular destination at the park and really uplifted the entire region of the country," says Larsen.
Beyond the architectural marvel of the tower, it is appealing because of its focus on nature. "In Denmark, we have a low percentage of forest land - about 14%," notes Larsen, "So people really enjoy seeing the forest with no obstructions." In Denmark, Larsen explains, every time someone cuts down a tree they have to plant a new one so the number stays constant.
The forest tower is on preserved land as part as the massive Glissefeld estate. The Glissefeld estate has roots tracing back to the late 1300s. Camp Adventure leases land from the private forest in an area known as Denderup Vaenge. According to the website, "It is characterized by the undulating landscape shaped during the Ice Age with the brook, Brødebækken, flowing through. The area is surrounded by large beech and oak trees."
The tower attracts a lot of international visitors. "The Swedish and Germans are the most popular visitors, but, surprisingly, Americans are the fourth most common," Larsen says. He says that a lot of Americans will visit Copenhagen and then make the way south to visit the tower.
Nearly all the visitors have extremely positive feedback after visiting the tower. "What is a little funny is that we think the nature around here is completely normal, but people visit and they think it is really exotic," reflects Larsen. "I think it is because it is not what they are used to. Perhaps they are used to different forests or mountains like the Alps instead of pretty flat land like we have."
So what are you waiting for? Park your RV at the airport and take a trip to Copenhagen. Take a look at the Hans Christian Anderson statue and while standing at the top of the 150-feet high tower, reflect on the incredible use of technology and architecture to enhance our experience with nature.
Destinations, Features, Hiking Trails, International, Nature, Outdoors