Watervaltoren

In the open Frisian landscape, a familiar silhouette rises: a former water tower, robust and industrial. Yet where the tower once served a purely utilitarian purpose, it now finds a second life as a spectacular artwork — the Watervaltoren. In this concept, the tower is not merely commemorated but literally brought back to life, with a real waterfall cascading down its concrete shaft.

From the tower’s upper ring, real water flows downward — a vertical fountain that cloaks the structure in a swirling skin of motion. The tower thus transforms into a powerful symbol of circulation, energy, and natural force — an ode to water itself. The sound of the cascading stream and the cooling microclimate complete the experience, making it both immersive and tangible.

As night falls, the tower undergoes a magical transformation. The waterfall is illuminated from within by soft white and colored light, causing the cascading water to glow against the darkness. From afar, the tower appears to radiate light and life. The artwork becomes a beacon in the landscape — subtle by day, enchanting by night.

The Watervaltoren is a rare fusion of engineering, heritage, and landscape art. The installation is designed to be circular and sustainable, with the falling water collected and continuously recirculated. The project transforms a monumental structure into a public experience where past and future, function and poetry, merge in a timeless flow.