Uevekoven water tower

Space in space (container)

The Uevekoven water tower is located in Wegberg / Uevekoven and can be seen from afar as a striking landmark .

description

The water tower was in operation in the Heinsberg district waterworks network until the beginning of the 1980s. On July 29, 1991, he is under monument protection . In the list of architectural monuments in Wegberg , entry no.158, the tower is described as follows:

“The Uevekoven water tower is a brick tower that was put into operation in December 1934. It is provided with a double-shell construction to keep the drinking water fresh even at high outside temperatures. Inside the wall rim there is a reinforced concrete container. The tower has a ring of six concrete pillars whose buckling length is shortened by freely drawn-in ceilings. The pillars surround the tube that contains the stairs to the container, the base plate of the container protrudes above them. The cylinder of the water tower head is divided horizontally by several plaster strips. The light openings are arranged as horizontal formats between these bands. Standing on a slight hill at the edge of the Tüschenbroich forest, the tower takes on the character of a landmark in the otherwise flat landscape. The unchanged preservation and the clearly legible affiliation of the water tower to the architectural style of brick expressionism makes the building important for Wegberg and its residents, as well as for the development of the buildings for the drinking water supply. "

The water tower is 53 m high and has a diameter of 10 m. The container (flat-bottom container made of reinforced concrete) has a capacity of around 400 cubic meters.

The water tower has been privately owned since 1995.

New usage concept

The tower was acquired by the artist and architect Norbert Kostka and the interior designer Ute Reimund. Since then, the planning and implementation of the new usage concept has been the subject of numerous competitions and publications. Several newspaper articles have appeared and TV programs have reported on it. The conversion process is part of an artistic concept of “gaining space” that Norbert Kostka has been pursuing since 1991. The concept also includes the project by the authors Galerie Kostka , which he has already implemented in a water tower in Cologne-Braunsfeld.

In the lower part of the tower, three floors were developed, which have been used as an apartment and studio since 2000. In 2008 the fourth, completely glazed floor was added. As part of the expansion, the drip tray and the reservoir of the water tower were made accessible. Occasional events (exhibitions, music performances, inspections, ...) of all kinds take place in the rooms. For occasions such as Heritage Day , Day of Architecture and Art Tour the tower is open to the public.

Awards

The Uevekoven water tower project has been awarded several architecture prizes:

1994: WEKA Architecture Prize - special prize for exemplary performance
LBS - The Golden House 2003 - Recognition
NRW lives / award - living in unusual places, conversion of non-residential buildings in 2008 - mention and exhibition

literature

Young contributions to architecture - North Rhine-Westphalia . Nelte-Verlag, Wiesbaden 1996, ISBN 3-9803466-3-3 , pp. 56-57
Bausubstanz - The specialist magazine for building maintenance: Presentation in the tower by Thomas Wieckhorst , Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 1995
db - German construction newspaper : Simple and minimized - Erratic boulders - On the trail of unseen architecture by Andreas Ruby , July, Stuttgart 1995
WEKA Architecture Prize 1994 - Extraction of Spaces , Leonardo Magazine for Architecture, October – November, Augsburg 1995
Preservation of monuments in the Rhineland: Wegberg-Uevekoven - The Water Tower , Rheinland-Verlag, 1st quarter, Cologne 1996, pp. 22–23
The House - Build-Live-Live Better: Houses of the Year , November, Munich 2003, p. 55
Norbert Kostka: Water Towers in Wegberg German International Water Tower Society 2002 eV, Dorsten 2004, pp. 29–39
NRW lives - living in unusual places, conversion of non-residential buildings 2008 - Chamber of Architects North Rhine-Westphalia 2008, p. 57
Architecture Day 2008: Living in a water tower , - Chamber of Architects North Rhine-Westphalia 2008, p. 461
Am Sonnenplatz - The magazine for building-living-lifestyle: At home in the water tower, issue 4, Kassel 2009, pp. 6–12
A project by Lebenshilfe Heinsberg for the European Day of Protest on Equality for People with Disabilities 2009 - Normal is not normal. Reporter from Lebenshilfe on the road in the Heinsberg district , brochure from Lebenshilfe Heilsberg 2009, pp. 18–21
Niersbote - your weekly newspaper for Wickrath and the surrounding area: Are you still to be saved , March 25, Mönchengladbach / Wickrath 2010, pp. 1–2

TV shows

n-tv - “should and have” on May 18, 2005 - report on the Uevekoven water tower - 3.5 '
pro7 - avenzio - better life! - Contribution to the competition “AVENZIO is looking for the super home 2005” - 10´

ARD - Ratgeber: Bauen + Wohnen on November 19, 2005 - Living in the water tower - 3.5´

ZDF - Volle Kanne Wohnen & Design on October 12, 2007 - home visit to the water tower

WDR - local time from Aachen on June 23, 2008 - Architecture Day

RTL - Our new home on August 26, 2009

WDR - local time from Aachen on November 19, 2009 - The village: Uevekoven

Web links

swell

↑ WEKA Architecture Prize 1994 - Gaining Space , Leonardo Magazine for Architecture, October-November, Augsburg 1995

51.125603 6.281272Coordinates: 51 ° 7 ′ 32.2 " N , 6 ° 16 ′ 52.6" E

[1] WEKA Architecture Prize 1994 - Gaining Space , Leonardo Magazine for Architecture, October-November, Augsburg 1995