Berlin Water Towers3: Steglitz (1)

Built 1915-1919, Wasserturm Steglitz sits on the southern section of Steglitz Friedhof- a large cemetery that houses many of Berlin's almost world famous from the late nineteenth century.  A small notch on the southwest edge contains a pet cemetery- "ein Haustierfriedhof."

The tower was originally designed to supply of drinking water for Steglitz- then an independent municipality.  It probably never functioned in this capacity, according to a German Wikipedia entry.  Steglitz was incorporated into Berlin in 1920, and thereafter joined the greater Berlin water supply.

Thereafter, the tower became a columbarium and, in1935, a memorial hall for soldiers of World War I.  The tower burned after an aerial raid in 1941, and was damaged in another raid in 1943.  It was unused from the early 1960s until restoration in 1999.  Today, its occupants are a medical publishing outfit.

Steglitz water tower was designed by Hans Heinrich Müller- a fine, brick expressionist architect whose imposing industrial structures- one of which is named "Kathedrale der Elektrizität"- can be found throughout the city.  I'll be posting on some of his buildings down the road.

For now, let me say that this is one of my least favourite water towers in Berlin.  It is too ornamental.  It presents too many textures, shapes and patterns, and defers too much to the affluent and residential area that once surrounded the cemetery.  It is probably not helped along by its leafy surroundings.

Still, this does raise the question: why are some water towers more pleasing on the eye than others?  Water towers are distinctly modern and industrial forms.  But towers of this vintage dampen the effect with homespun, preindustrial gestures.  This is partly what makes towers like Mariendorf so fascinating.  Consider its gothic buttresses, the exposed beams in the top section, the two-tiered roof. Why would a designer go to such lengths for a gas works structure?  Why would a facility owner commission such a design?  What did workers and others think of the structure? (I also wonder about the original surroundings of the Neukölln tower- one of the more amusing, archly conservative designs).  Part of what makes a good water tower, I think, is that these gestures do not overwhelm or unduly obscure a water tower's stark, utilitarian character.