Page 33 - AIT1019_E-Paper

Der Turm von Eernegem
von • by Jantje Engels / Veldwerk

www.veldwerk.co

The tower of Eernegem is an unimplemented draft by the Munich
architect Max Otto Zitzelsberger and his Gent colleagues Jantje
Engels and Marius Grootveld from Veldwerk Architecten. They
wanted to add a newly designed cap to the pump tower which is
a popular destination in the little Belgian town. On this page as
well as on the double pages 008/009 and 064/065, we show you
the magnificent design drawings. The three architects also com-
plemented them with the following story.

T he town of Eernegem is located in a flat countryside near the coast. Its resi-
dents are living in simple houses. There are plenty of fields and also a few
roads and lanes. These are bordered by trees. In the midst of this scenery, at the
shore of a lake, stands an old tower. A long time ago, it used to serve the people
for pumping water from the lake to a train station. The people in this region love
to ride bicycles. At weekends, they mount their bikes and explore their surround-
ings. What they like best is to ride to the old tower. This is where they have a mar-
vellous view of their attractive, flat countryside. At their feet lies the beautiful av-
enue along which they just rode their bicycles to then climb the tower. The tower
stands alone in the midst of the scenery bordered by old trees and is built of red
bricks. A metallic superstructure caps the building! It shimmers like silver in the
light. From some perspectives, the top seems solid and from others as light as
paper. Large windows can be seen already from a distance. They promise a mag-
nificent view. One wants to climb up quickly to finally enjoy the view into the dis-
tance. You can even see Ostende and, behind it, the expanse of the sea. At times,
you even get the impression that the tower with its silver cap had been standing
there for a long time. When climbing up the tower, you pass large and small win-
dows. You quickly become aware of the fact that something special hides behind
each opening. In some places, the idyllic lake lies within the viewers’ field of vi-
sion, in others it is the green meadows and the brown farmland. Between them,
you can clearly see narrow and wide lanes with grey tar and yellow sand. Some
houses stand by the wayside and, at the distant horizon, the North Sea.

The sea lies at the horizon

Inside the old walls of the tower is a lightweight staircase of metal. Around a circular
column in the centre spiral folded steps which become very wide at the windows.
Thus one can also stop briefly in those places to enjoy the view. A filigree banister en-
sures the necessary safety and assists those who need help climbing up the high con-
struction. The further up you venture, the lighter the tower seems to be. The new
metallic superstructure is composed of wall panels. They are arranged facing each
other in such a way that you sometimes get the impression of being in an interior and
looking out as well as vice versa. The whole surface of the platform is accessible to
the visitors. They can move freely between the metallic walls which structure the
space like curtains and allow ever new, surprising outlooks. The design idea of the
cap is simple. A lightweight yet sturdily built and covered construction of thin metal
rests on the old, heavy walls. Horizontal hollow profiles of metal and two rows of
standing columns in the form of simple round tubes of the same material are welded
together and form the skeleton of the cap construction. Simple plates, likewise con-
sisting of metal, brace the construction. Each wall surface thus appears smooth from
the outside and structured from the inside. From the metallic cap of the tower, one
has an unobstructed view of the complete scenery, of its infinite vastness. You look
once more down at the parts of this spread-out playground, this childhood dream
world. And then you pause. The sea lies at the horizon; a sight you will never forget.

M. O. Zitzelsberger, Jantje Engels, Marius Grootveld