Undulating concrete panels will form the facade of VÅGA, a large water tower planned for a hilltop in Varberg, Sweden, to create the impression of a wave rolling across the landscape.
White Arkiteker seeks to challenge the idea that water towers must be vertical and circular with the design. The Scandinavian firm instead proposes a horizontal structure, which it suggests is better suited to its function.

Planned for the east of the city, VÅGA will comprise two tanks for storing water. Each one will be faced by four concave panels that change in appearance throughout the day, as shadows move across them.
To further emphasise this form, the cisterns will be long and narrow, and placed horizontally beside each other, creating an elongated structure that "can be perceived as either very thin or extremely long as you move around it".
"This giant landmark has been designed to have a shifting appearance" lead architect Mattias Lind told Dezeen. "As the sun moves around the tower during the day, the horizontal curvature creates an ever-changing expression of light and shadow."
"This shape illustrates fluidity, synonymous with the tower's task of storing water, and is instantly recognisable from great distances across the region's flat landscape."

VÅGA was the winning entry in a competition organised by local water management company Vivab.
The brief called for a water tower that would provide a unique...