Carlos Jarpa’s Vigilante Maule Is a Timber Frame Tower Looking Out Over Chile’s Vineyards

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/this-awesome-drum-set-is-made-from-repurposed-wine-barrels/">Wine</a> tourism has been on the rise, and as weary travelers look for a glass of red to unwind with, they're bypassing local bars and heading right to the source. The beautiful <a href="http://www.winesofchile.org/the-wines/wine-regions/maule-valley/">Maule Vineyard Homes</a> in Chile recently added a spectacular new way to enjoy the stretches of grape vines that make up the Rivera del río Maule. Designed by <a href="http://vigilantedelmaule.tumblr.com/">Carlos Jarpa</a> for his thesis project at the <a href="http://www.talca.org/">Escuela de Arquitectura Universidad de Talca</a>, this water-tower-inspired timber construction winds up to the sky, offering inimitable views of the scenic Chilean countryside.

<a href="http://vigilantedelmaule.tumblr.com/">Jarpa </a>wanted to create a tower whose structure would be self-supporting and would not require external additions for support.

He turned to a jointed grid-shell system, which would not only provide for a strong and sturdy construction, but a flexibility that would allow the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/south-korea-builds-worlds-tallest-lego-tower/">tower </a>to be manipulated into complex shapes with dynamic planes. 

This structural system joined with a hyperbolic shape perfectly manages to transfer the heavy loads evenly throughout the volume.

The airy, open grid construction also provides a visual lightness to the structure that melds well with the surrounding landscape.

The <a href="http://inhabitat.com/nyc/bellboy-new-york-upcycles-a-park-avenue-water-tower-into-a-sexy-wooden-chair-for-12-x-12/">tower</a> was built with treated 2×2" pine slats joined together by a system of modular metal plates.

The base of the tower is set on a rectangular platform that not only provides extra stability, but an additional place for visitors to play and repose.

The entire structure took just 3 days to assemble on-site.

Inspired by the watchtowers that were formerly used on farms to monitor crops, Japra saw his <a href="http://inhabitat.com/water-tower-transformed-into-minimalist-modern-home/">tower </a>as an opportunity to invite visitors to enjoy all the glory of vineyards without requiring them to tour the entire place.