The Tower of Gaia is located in the renovated entrance area of GaiaZOO. The total height of the viewpoint can be compared to three adult male giraffes, or 17 meters!
Idea
The idea behind the construction of the tower arose from the request from the municipality to contribute to the 'Experience Kerkrade' campaign.
Experience is a verb and so it is an interesting idea to come up with something that on the one hand invites you to be active and on the other hand shows what there is to experience in Kerkrade. This is how the idea was born for a watchtower at the entrance of GaiaZOO, but publicly accessible, so also for people who have not bought an entrance ticket.
An architect translated this into a beautiful design and thanks to a substantial contribution from the municipality, this project could be realized. The end result is a striking landmark for both the zoo and the city.
Positioning Tower of Gaia
The tower marks the geographical center of Kerkrade. Koen Rutten, geographer, discovered that the geographic center of Kerkrade is at the entrance of the zoo. Marking this special point with a new attraction fits seamlessly into the municipality's tourism policy.
Design nominated for prize
The design of the tower was made by Ed Vliegen of Hermans Vliegen Architecten. The steps resemble two strands of DNA. All living things have DNA; that fits in nicely with the concept of GaiaZOO. The design has been nominated for the Construsoft BIM Awards 2022 for the most beautiful BIM (Building Information Modelling) project in the Benelux.
For everyone to visit
From now on, the tower is free for every visitor, including those who do not buy a ticket for the zoo. The tower is located within the fence of the park and is therefore only accessible to the public during opening hours.
This text has been automatically translated using an online translation service.
