European Landscape Architecture: Best Practice in Detailing

Germany

a natural stone block. The terrain is consistently

terraced with seating steps, each combined with

two risers.

The long stairway to the top of the toboggan hill

consists of 40cm treads with 12cm risers, provid-

ing a comfortable gradient, with landings every

seven steps. The specially designed stainless steel

handrail follows the slope of the hill as well as the

stairway. To the rear of the hill, serpentine bends

are used to reduce the slope to 3 per cent to ease

access for those with mobility difficulties.

The pedestrian boardwalks

In order to continue the long, linear pathway con-

nections in the areas of the bathing lake and the

sunken garden, pedestrian boardwalks were neces-

sary. The construction of these boardwalks appears

to be very solid. The load-bearing construction

consists of steel members, painted black, and a

surface of larch-wood planks with surface grooves.

The dimensions of the construction members are

based on the static calculations of the consulting

engineer. The untreated timber planks contain extra

measures against weathering. To make the side

elevations of the boardwalk appear more elegant,

the wooden planks were angled towards their ends.

In order to avoid a visible screw connection from

the top, two planks were connected on the under-

side with a steel plate. These were then attached to

the binding inter-ties through the gaps between the

planks from above. The construction of the board-

walks ensures timber protection, the interrupted

appearance of the wooden material, and safety for

pedestrian users.

4.28
Boardwalk, isometric drawing
4.29
Boardwalk detailed drawing, showing handrail con-
struction
4.30
Photo: boardwalk detail