This wooden observation platform by architects Javier Mera, Jorge Andrade and Daniel Moreno sits high above a three-kilometre-wide lake inside an active volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes (+ slideshow). More about High-altitude viewpoint perches over a volcanic crater lake
Comoco Architects has added a third new structure to the grounds of the medieval Pombal Castle in Portugal – a limestone-clad visitor centre that doubles as a viewing platform (+ slideshow). More about Pombal Castle visitor centre offers a peek through a historic stone wall
Warsaw office MFRMGR has revealed designs to revitalise a former Polish observation tower in the Baltic Sea to create a base for water sports enthusiasts and researchers, accessible only by boat. More about Offshore torpedo base in Poland to be transformed by MFRMGR into a water sports hub
This community viewing platform and play area, designed by Hong Kong architects Olivier Ottevaere and John Lin, provides a loop that rises up to overlook rice terraces carved into the surrounding valleys (+ slideshow). More about Looping wooden viewing platform in China built by students in just six days
Architecture students Angus Ritchie and Daniel Tyler have designed and built a mirrored lookout point in a Scottish national park that both frames and reflects views of the surrounding lochs and glens (+ slideshow). More about Mirrored cabin installed in Scottish glen by Angus Ritchie and Daniel Tyler
Imagine the vistas you could take in from these examples of skywalks and viewing platforms, which we've pinned onto a new Pinterest board. See our new Pinterest board »
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More about New Pinterest board: viewpoints
This vertiginous viewing platform in the Canadian Rockies was designed by Calgary firm Sturgess Architecture with a strengthened glass floor that provides a view straight down to the valley below. More about Sturgess Architecture's Glacier Skywalk offers unique views of the Canadian Rockies
This wooden viewing cabin raised on stilts above the rugged landscape of southern Norway was designed by TYIN Tegnestue – the Trondheim office that also recently completed a top-heavy house extension (+ slideshow). More about Timber viewing cabin by TYIN Tegnestue overlooks a wild Norwegian landscape
A national park in the Netherlands is the setting for this old water tower, which Dutch firm Zecc Architecten has transformed into an observation point by twisting staircases through its middle (+ slideshow). More about Zecc Architecten transforms an old water tower into a parkland observation point
Amidst the fast-paced construction of King's Cross in London, young Finnish studio AOR has installed an angular canal-side platform where visitors can make contact with some of the local wildlife (+ slideshow). More about AOR's floating Viewpoint offers glimpses of London's canal-side wildlife
News: the owners of an observation deck on the 94th storey of Chicago's John Hancock Center are considering adding a glass box into which visitors would be strapped and tilted forward to experience a bird's eye view of the city below. More about Tilting glass attraction proposed for observation deck of Chicago's John Hancock Center
Visitors to this lakeside concrete tower in the Netherlands can scale its walls, jog up to an observation deck on its roof, or sail a zip wire across the water from a balcony (+ slideshow). More about Ateliereen Architecten's concrete observation tower features a climbing wall and zip line
This 25-metre wooden lookout in the Czech Republic by Mjölk Architekti is named Cucumber Tower in an attempt to discourage association with phallic forms (+ slideshow). More about Timber observation tower shaped like "a cucumber" by Mjölk Architekti
Zaha Hadid has revealed images of her addition to the Messner Mountain Museum, a string of buildings dotted through the Dolomites of northern Italy. More about Messner Mountain Museum Corones by Zaha Hadid Architects
Landscape architects EMF teamed up with architecture firm Ardèvol to remove over 400 buildings from a former holiday village in eastern Spain and transform the landscape into a series of meandering pathways and coastal viewpoints (+ movie). More about Tudela-Culip Restoration Project in Cap de Creus by EMF and Ardèvol
This concrete staircase into the air by Lisbon architecture studio Ateliermob functions as a riverside amphitheatre on the banks of the Tagus in central Portugal (+ slideshow). More about Rio de Moinhos Open-Air Theatre by Ateliermob
These shots by photographer Edmund Sumner show some of the first visitors able to scale the roof of the O2 Arena in London, thanks to a new fabric walkway designed by architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Bblur Architecture (+ slideshow). More about Up at the O2 by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and Bblur Architecture
Danish studio BIG has designed an observation tower shaped like a honey dipper for Phoenix, Arizona (+ slideshow). More about Phoenix Observation Tower by BIG
Next month marks the official opening of the Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Route; a scenic mountain road that begins at a wooden viewing platform perched 650 metres above Norways's longest and deepest fjord (+ slideshow). More about Aurlandsfjellet Tourist Route opens
Zig-zagging pathways lead to viewing platforms perched high in the Norwegian mountains in this visitor facility designed by Reiulf Ramstad Architects (+ slideshow). More about Trollstigen Tourist Route Project by Reiulf Ramstad Architects