NYMA Watertower

Even though the water tower, with its concrete piers, stands in the middle of the makerspace, there was quite a question as to whether the makers would be allowed to occupy it. The tower is a monument, one of the most striking elements of the NYMA complex and can be seen from far. The challenge, as with the rest of the building or perhaps worse in this case, is to make useable spaces in it that pay off despite high investments. The tower was in poor condition, so non-original masonry and plaster walls have been removed and only the concrete skeleton with the top edge of clean (now dirty) masonry and the letters NYMA is standing. When it will soon be finished, we actually want the building to look as it has always looked but at the same time we want the interior spaces to have quality, it has to be better than it was. When you cross the bridge by car, one vertical strip is glazed, and you look inside. From inside you have a view of the Waal and the meadow surroundings. The (escape) staircase is outside and is a straight modern steel structure. To distinguish itself from the tower, it is placed separately from it. At the top of the tower just below the ring of masonry will soon be a monumental space containing a semi-open floor with restaurant and bar. It will be a feast to work or eat on the top floor in the tower from the outside this liveliness behind the narrow vertical strip of glass is a kind of theater. Instead of static heritage, the tower will become a commissioned public monument.