The Amsterdamsestraatweg Water Tower is located in

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The

water tower A water tower is an elevated structure supporting a water tank constructed at a height sufficient to pressurize a water distribution system, distribution system for potable water, and to provide emergency storage for fire protection. Water towe ...

was built at Amsterdamsestraatweg 380 in 1916, in the style of the Amsterdam School. It became derelict in 1986 and was repeatedly

squatted Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

before its redevelopment into apartments began in 2020.

History

The

was built in 1916 at Amsterdamsestraatweg 380 in

, 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 1000m³ 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 A rijksmonument (, ) is a national heritage site of the Netherlands, listed by the agency Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed (RCE) acting for the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. At the end of February 2015, the Netherlands ...

in 2001.

Protests

The

Dutch squatting ban The Dutch squatting ban refers to the law (Dutch: ''Wet Kraken en Leegstand'') introduced on 1 October 2010, under which squatting in the Netherlands became de jure illegal. Criminalization had first been proposed in the 1970s, but was opposed by ...

criminalised the occupation of derelict buildings in the Netherlands on 1 October 2010. In 2013, the water tower was

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 in the tower and live above it. The tower was occupied in October 2017, as a protest both against it being left empty and more generally against the criminalisation of squatting, which had occurred seven years earlier. Squatters took possession of the building at 14:00 and the police began to evict at 17:00. Seven people were arrested, six inside the watertower and one outside, for insulting the police. In the eventual court case, the group of six stood trial. One person was sentenced to a prison sentence of 7 days, because he had previously been convicted of the same offence (of squatting). The other five squatters received a fine of 500 euros. The judge did not agree with the defence's argument that people should not be convicted for making a protest, saying "Squatters are free to go to demonstrations and promulgate their ideals, but those ideals do not permit them to indulge in criminal activity." In 2018, the building was again occupied, precisely eight years after criminalisation. It was evicted one day later and four squatters were arrested. They released a statement which said "In the last eight years, house prices have rocketed and the need for housing has also increased ..Government and owners are not held responsible and not enough is done with long term empty properties". Squatters attempted to occupy the building again in August 2019, but were unable to do so.

Redevelopment

The owner Chris Visscher had stated in 2014 that the tower would be converted into a restaurant and four flats by mid 2015. He intended to convert the former reservoir into an apartment for himself with 360° views over Utrecht. In February 2020, the work finally began. The architects, Zecc Architecten, have also redeveloped water towers in Sint Jansklooster (into a look-out tower), Den Bosch (into a restaurant and office), Lutten (into a bed and breakfast) en Soest (into housing).

References

External links

* {{SquatNL Water towers in the Netherlands 1916 establishments in the Netherlands Buildings and structures in Utrecht (city) Rijksmonuments in Utrecht (city) Squats in the Netherlands Towers in Utrecht (province)

History

Protests

Redevelopment

See also

References

External links