Tower reservoirs – identification, documentation, presentation, new use
Water supply technical icons with more than 200 years of tradition.
Project background
Water towers; technical icons of water supply. They are specific by their construction and technological development and the application of architectural period trends on vertical buildings. They have a documented history of two hundred years in our territory, some of which have already served for a hundred years. They were wooden, steel, brick, and concrete, reaching heights of over 60 metres. Significant designers, builders, and architects were involved in their construction. They catch the attention and raise the interest of the lay and professional public. They call for bold conversions and the search for new ways to use them.
Project aims
The aim of the project is to make cultural heritage accessible to a wide community of interested parties and users through research activities and outputs. In relation to the importance of water towers, it aims to preserve intangible cultural heritage for future generations, to document and preserve cultural heritage sites with minimized losses, and to save the values of cultural heritage. It generates opportunities to use the research results in education based on knowledge of national identity and its active development, including opportunities abroad – co-creation of European identity.
Project methodology
Our research methods are based on approaches of studying the history of technology, historical geography, and also economic and social history. In connection with documentation, emphasis on the possibility of preserving, and presenting and popularizing the results, the project is also intertwined with approaches to monument care.
We combine independent research of archival and other available sources with field surveys, which include both construction-technical and construction-historical surveys. The research methods are also a base for the nature and specific form of the prepared project outputs.
When obtaining information about tower reservoirs, we mainly use research from archival sources. Their selection is tailored to the project interests and is preceded by thorough research. Archive research serves not only as a primary source of information for project outputs, but also as a basis for further research. In situ surveys are carried out on selected facilities, which are based on the methods of construction-historical and construction-technical research.
More information can be found on the project website here (in Czech).