Water tower

About

The Amsterdamsestraatweg Water Tower is located in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The water tower was built at Amsterdamsestraatweg 380 in 1916, in the style of the Amsterdam School. It became derelict in 1986 and was repeatedly squatted before its redevelopment into apartments began in 2020.

History: The water tower was built in 1916 at Amsterdamsestraatweg 380 in Utrecht, in the style of the Amsterdam School. The architect was W.K. de Wijs. It was the fourth tower built by Utrechtsche Waterleiding Maatschappij and it stood on what was then the border of Utrecht and Zuilen. The watertower stands 42 metres high and when in use it had a reservoir of 1000 m3 of drinking water. Since 1986 it has been derelict. It was squatted for a time in the 1980s, then it was sold in 1989 and converted into office space. It became a rijksmonument in 2001.

Protests: The Dutch squatting ban criminalised the occupation of derelict buildings in the Netherlands on 1 October 2010. In 2013, the water tower was squatted for three months. It was squatted again in 2014 by the same people in protest at it being left derelict. The building was then purchased by Chris Visscher who intended to make a restaurant...