Aqua vitae: water towers are getting a wash and brush-up

Water Tower, by V+
Architects V+ recently completed this 50m-tall water tower in the small Belgian village of Ghlin, near Mons. Having to negotiate placing a fairly large structure within a flat, natural landscape, the Belgian practice opted to keep the form simple, referencing a container that sits on concrete stilts. Four columns forming overlapping X and V shapes carry the structure’s weight and its 2,000 sq m water tank. An asymmetrically located staircase core leads up to the main platform, where the tank is concealed behind a metal mesh that helps the volume appear lighter.

Observation Point, by Zecc
There are many ways to reuse an old water tower when it’s no longer needed for the liquid stuff. Utrecht-based firm Zecc transformed one into a lookout point for a national park in the Dutch province of Overijssel.

Rainbow Tower, by Studio Original Designers 6R5
A symbol of Milan’s industrial heritage, the Rainbow Tower at Porta Garibaldi has had a recent revamp by Studio Original Designers 6R5. Clad in more than 100,000 colourful ceramic tiles, the old water tower-turned-symbolic-totem has reclaimed its place as the area’s key landmark.

As originally featured in the November 2015 edition of Wallpaper* (W*200)