Designed by Zecc Architecten, The watertower is situated in the middle of a protected nature reserve owned by Nature Monuments; De Wieden in the province Overijssel. BOEi, Vitens and Nature Monuments took up the plan to transform the tower to a watchtower. A spectacular ? route architectural? will lead you up to a height of 45 m. Upstairs four windows give you a 360-degree view of De Wieden.
Photography: Stijn Poelstra
The journey upstairs begins with a closed staircase that leads to the first floor on 4 m. height. Here you have arrived in a room that is 24 m. in height and houses a spectacle of old and new stairs. The new stairs that lead through the body of the water tower have been made of wood. This too, on the one hand, add a warm element that contrasts with the stark concrete walls of the tower. On the other hand, it is a gesture to Nature Monuments by using a raw and unpolished natural material. By adding the new route complementary to the old existing one, spatial interaction is created. Where the old stairs led up alongside the walls, the new stairs zigzag across the tower to reinforce the spatial perception. Section
The new stairs lead up to the level of the floor just below the immense concrete reservoir at 28 m. height. From this level, the original stairs went up through a tight space alongside the exterior of the tank. Now a steel winding stairs depart from the floor below the reservoir and go right through the bottom of the empty tank. The stairs slowly win...