Water Tower In Luxembourg

A massive concrete base encased in steel is designed to keep unwanted intruders out of the water tower. © Miguel Fernández-Galiano

Luxembourg is a city of hills and valleys. No fewer than ten water towers and pressure tanks used to be needed to supply all parts of the city with sufficient drinking water. An eleventh has now been added to ensure the supply of drinking water to the Kirchberg district, which is currently experiencing strong growth and is home to offices and hospitals.

In 2015, the Spanish architectural firm Temperaturas Extremas won the EU-wide competition for the new building on the northern edge of the Kirchberg plateau. The surrounding forest is part of the more than 25 % of Luxembourg's territory that is protected as a Natura 2000 site. The architects and their client, the local water company, therefore wanted to minimise the impact on the local natural environment. In the competition, Temperaturas Extremas had already decided to divide the required storage volume of 1000 m³ between two towers. The spaces between the towers would be used as nesting sites for birds and bats.

The two 600 m³ and 400 m³ containers are located at the top of the towers. They are supported by two fair-faced concrete cores, 46 m and 53 m high, which are connected at ground level and at a height of around 26 m. Inside the cores, a lift and a staircase lead upwards. While one of the water tanks has a naked sheet metal shell, the other is surrounded by a translucent shell made of various native woods. This, and the steel structure that supports it, incorporate nesting places for around half a dozen species of birds and bats at various heights and locations.

Architecture: Temperaturas Extremas: Atxu Amann / Andrés Cánovas / Nicolás Maruri Associated architect Adelino MagalhaesClient: Service Eaux, Ville de Luxembourg Location: 1855 Kirchberg, Luxemburg (LU)

Structural engineering: Simon-Christiansen & Associés Ingénieurs-ConseilsSite management: Andrés Cánovas, Nicolás Maruri, Joachim Kraft, Ballini Pitt Architectes-Urbanistes - Jimmy BrunnerBuilding services engineering: BSC Ingénieurs-Conseils (Building Solutions & Consulting)Contractor: Galère Lux