360° views: OOPEAA’s observation tower on the shores of a Finnish lake

From crystal lakes to thick, green forests, Finland is not short of stunning landscapes and Helsinki-based architects OOPEAA have devised the perfect way to take it all in. Their 'Periscope' project near the city of Seinäjoki is the area’s newest observation tower.
Acting as a giant wooden periscope, the structure is strategically perched at a clearance by the man-made lake Kyrösjärvi, right at the edge of the water. A large mirror, carefully placed on the roof and angled so that it is visible from the ground, gives visitors an option: they can either climb up the five-level building to the seating area at the very top, where they can pause for breath, rest and enjoy the vistas; or they can opt to stay on the ground and simply look up to get a sense of the view from above.
The piece is almost made entirely out of wood – a material the architects at OOPEAA are much familiar with (the practice won the Finlandia Award last year for their Puukuokka housing project, the country’s tallest wooden apartment block). The 'Periscope'’s inner core is cross-laminated timber (CLT), while the external solid wood frame acts as the load-bearing structure. Made out of prefabricated elements, the structure also features cladding and staircases in larch and safety detailings in steel.
Large window openings and smaller slits in-between planks allow for a variety of views as the visitor travels up the winding staircase, around an inner core that is left clear to allow for views of the mirror from below.
There are big plans in action for the area’s future, with a large housing development envisioned around the lake – and this tower is the first step of a larger landscape design that will reshape the lakeshore, developed by OOPEAA for the Seinäjoki Housing Fair 2016.
The 'Periscope Tower' was realised in collaboration with SWECO Seinäjoki and constructed by the students of SEDU, a local vocational school for building and construction skills.
The structure incorporates a mirror to show views from above to people on the ground. Visitors can also climb up the stairs to the viewing platform at the top
Aptly named 'Periscope Tower', the project is almost entirely made out of wood
Created out of prefabricated timber elements, the structure also features cladding and staircases in larch and safety detailings in steel
Large window openings and smaller slits in-between planks allow for a variety of views as the visitor travels up the winding staircase
INFORMATION
For more information, visit OOPEAA’s website
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Sex, scent and celebrity: what perfume ads of the 2000s reveal about consumer culture today
In All-American Ads of the 2000s, the latest instalment of Taschen’s book series chronicling print advertising across ten decades, a section on perfume is a striking precursor for consumerism in the age of social media
-
Shola Branson draws from the antique and modern for his must-have jewellery pieces
Shola Branson's jewellery in SMO gold combines a range of eclectic influences
-
The exquisite landscape architecture of Jung Youngsun is celebrated at SMAC in Venice
Timed to coincide with the Venice Biennale, the new San Marco Art Centre opened with a show on the work of South Korean landscape architect Jung Youngsun
-
Alvar Aalto: our ultimate guide to architecture's father of gentle modernism
Alvar Aalto defined midcentury – and Finnish – architecture like no other, creating his own, distinctive brand of gentle modernism; honouring him, we compiled the ultimate guide
-
Design Awards 2025: Alvar Aalto's Finlandia Hall is a modernist gem reborn through sustainability and accessibility
Helsinki's Finlandia Hall, an Alvar Aalto landmark design, has been reborn - highlighting sustainability and accessibility in a new chapter for the modernist classic
-
A brutalist garden revived: the case of the Mountbatten House grounds by Studio Knight Stokoe
Tour a brutalist garden redesign by Studio Knight Stokoe at Mountbatten House, a revived classic in Basingstoke, UK
-
A vibrant new waterfront park opens in San Francisco
A waterfront park by leading studio Scape at China Basin provides dynamic public spaces and coastal resilience for San Francisco's new district of Mission Rock
-
Light, nature and modernist architecture: welcome to the reimagined Longwood Gardens
Longwood Gardens and its modernist Roberto Burle Marx-designed greenhouse get a makeover by Weiss/Manfredi and Reed Hildebrand in the US
-
Exclusive first look: Katajanokan Laituri sets a new standard for timber architecture
Katajanokan Laituri, a new building in the historic Kauppatori market district of Helsinki, is made from around 7,500 cubic metres of wood, cementing Finland’s position as leader in sustainable architecture, construction and urban development
-
Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024: meet the practices
In the Wallpaper* Architects Directory 2024, our latest guide to exciting, emerging practices from around the world, 20 young studios show off their projects and passion
-
Nordic minimalism meets warm personality at Studio Collaboratorio’s new home in Finland
The emerging Finnish practice Studio Collaboratorio is welcomed into the Wallpaper* Architects’ Directory 2024