Belgian architecture studio V+ has completed a mesh-covered water tower that is supported by angled concrete columns.
Water towers are infrastructures that transcend their technical purpose and help to shape the greater landscape. Water towers, built for the most part in the 20th century, are usually cut parts developed from a simple extrusion or the revolution of a profile around a central axis. Although this conception generates a simple, rational image of dominion by evoking a repeatedly enlarged recipient, it stems from a logic whereby the liquid contained takes precedence over the landscape.
Named Chateau d'Eau, the structure was designed for the Ghlin-Badour business park in Belgium. It was intended as an unconventional interpretation of water towers, as well as a "strong signal" and landmark for the industrial estate. The 2,000-cubic-metre vat does not represent the continuation of the structure but rather an independent structure resting on a support.
"The withdrawn vat gives the overhead volume an elegant transparence, while the night lights give the floating vat its aura of mystery ... The imposing structure is enriched by a fragility that is unusual for the strict world of engineering ... It casts a dynamic figure that can be observed in a variety of challenging ways by the users of the nearby canal and motorway." said V+
