Worldwide Largest Walkable Wooden Sphere

In 2019, a masterpiece of engineering opened its doors in Steinberg am See, Germany. The worldwide largest walkable wooden sphere (capacity for 950 visitors at a time) is superlative in many ways. With a weight of over 500 tons, a height of 40 metres and a diameter of almost 50 metres, this project can already be seen from afar.

Due to these dimensions, a holistic logistics and assembly concept was developed early on. This made it possible to provide the glued laminated timber elements at the factory of HESS TIMBER with two joints and to prefabricate them completely. After delivery to the construction site, the individual elements have been subsequently joined and erected. Each with a weight of around 17 tonnes. Given the complexity of the supporting structure, the architecture itself and the requirements of structural wood protection, this unique project marks another milestone and a novelty in the project history of HESS TIMBER. The complex prefabrication as well as the subsequent preassembly and erection of the glued laminated timber elements has been one of the biggest challenges for all involved.

"We at HESS TIMBER are proud that we were able to demonstrate our knowledge and expertise in this extraordinary project." – Kai Vahle, Project Manager, HESS TIMBER