The 25m-high Marsk Tower – translated as “Marsh Tower” due to its location in the marshlands of Denmark’s popular National Park, Wadden Sea – offers expansive views of the natural environment. 

Appearing as a sculptural art object rising out of the landscape, Marsk Tower will function as an observation lookout that facilitates community as a key tourist landmark. A wheelchair-accessible tower, an elevator located in the core of the tower provides access via the ground level ramp. The tower’s simple design, defined by Corten steel materiality, exudes a natural aesthetic that blends with the surrounding environment while simultaneously becoming a new, visible destination in Denmark.

“Marsk tower is a testament to our two decades-long friendship and collaboration with the blacksmiths of Schacks Trapper,” says Bjarke Ingels, founder and creative director, BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group. 

“The double helix provides two stairs and an elevator with a single stack of rotating steel steps, allowing visitors to ascend and descend in a single spiraling loop from the sand to the sky – connecting the marsh land to the Wadden Sea.”

BIG worked on the design for the observation tower as part of a local partnership with Marsk Camp Group to create an experiential destination that presents the unique landscape from a new perspective, to tourists all over the world. Wadden Sea National Park is one of the last remaining large-scale intertidal ecosystems in the world and is widely known for its unique natural environment of sea, dune, woods, heaths, fauna, and wildlife.