The water tower in Wrocław-Kuźniki was a dominant feature of the estate’s landscape for years. Built in 1952, it supplied the Wrocław-Gądów station with water for almost four decades. After it was decommissioned in 1990, the building was closed for many years, protected from outsiders, walled up on the inside and covered in dust along with a twenty-centimetre layer of bird droppings. Today, this monumental structure has regained a second life thanks to the vision of architect Eliza Suder, who has transformed the tower into a place for meetings, art and design without losing the spirit of the historic building.
I am a converted railway water tower. I am about 70 years old. I have been referred to as being kept in the spirit of 1950s constructivism. I have been referred to many times as a ruin. They wanted to demolish me. I rebuilt and renovated for eight years. The meaning of my life has changed, in fact I have been given a whole new meaning. I want to serve you, I want to make you happy, I want to make friends with you. I have changed to become a meeting place and a place of culture. I am multi-tasking and multi-functional, I am a design office and an art gallery. I will also be a café, a supper club and a workshop hub for architecture, art and design. I will be able to accommodate you overnight in my two crown suites. I’m also the girl next door, I like meetings, I look forward to meeting you – that’s how the tower in Wroclaw’s Kuźniki writes about itself on social media. The full name is E64 tower Wrocław.
A place with history
The design for the tower was drawn up as early as 1948 by the Katowice-based State Railway Reconstruction Authority, and its construction was completed four years later. The fixed-diameter structure, based on a reinforced concrete foundation, has an octagonal plan – both the shaft and the superstructure take this geometric form. The head of the tank, originally entirely of reinforced concrete, rested on a massive grate supported by a reinforced concrete framework composed of columns and transverse beams. The structure was filled with brick, and the façade was covered with a vertical composition of plaster emphasised by bands of high windows. Such an austere and austere form exemplified the Constructivist architecture of the 1940s and 1950s, responding to the urgent infrastructural needs of the post-war railway.
The basement housed a heating furnace with a fuel store, and vertical communication took place in two stages: a concrete staircase along the inner wall to the sub-tank floor, and a steel ladder – both inside, leading to the base of the tank, and on working platforms outside, allowing access to the upper edge of the tank. No changes were made to the structure, plan, massing or elevations throughout its lifetime (1952-1990).
The water tower BEFORE reconstruction:
Years of neglect and conservation protection
After the tower was decommissioned in 1990, the building lost its original purpose. In 1994, the PKP Buildings Division decided to secure the building against unauthorised access: the entrance was bricked up, the door and doorframe removed, and the basement windows blocked. Thanks to this interference, the block has retained its original shape, although the interior has fallen into almost complete ruin.
In February 2015, the building was entered in the register of historical monuments, appreciating its historical, technical and architectural value. As a result, any modernisation had to be carried out under conservation supervision, ensuring that the original details and form were respected.
New life
On 23 November 2016, the tower changed hands. Eliza Suder, an architect with more than 20 years’ experience and a passion for art history, won the bidding process. She is a graduate of the Faculty of Architecture at Wrocław University of Technology and of museum and curatorial studies at Jagiellonian University. The technical conditions of the tower were described in the expert report as ‘satisfactory’, but the interior needed to be completely revitalised. The architect involved family, friends and a team of specialists in the project: from the constructors to the site manager and cleaning crews. The architectural design took more than two years to prepare, and construction work started in 2020, then went through a succession of stoppages and challenges – from deciding on materials, to organising logistics, to funding and scheduling issues.
The interior of the tower currently:
Transformation of space
Eliza Suder preserved the original shape of the massing and load-bearing layout of the tower. The stairs and lift installation were inscribed inside the outline, which did not disturb the external silhouette. The building was insulated and the window frames were replaced, and new railings were brought out on the roof terrace. The interior has become a tribute to contrast: fragments of reinforced concrete tank walls, remnants of concrete stairs and lisens blend smoothly with minimalist furniture, rustic antiques and a collection of contemporary artworks.
In the basement, next to the preserved heating cooker, a space has been created to serve as an artist’s studio and a relaxation area for visitors. Each level of the tower has been given its own character – the semi-darkness of the industrial interiors is broken by light reflections coming in through the high, vertical windows. Above the tank’s head, in an octagonal superstructure, a comfortable flat has been arranged, combining raw brutalism with the comfort of a loft flat.
Multiple functions and cultural offerings
Several complementary spaces now operate under the brand name of the Wrocław Tower. The underground and ground floors house the POCO Gallery – a continuation of the activities from Pomorska Street – which presents works by artists associated with architecture, design and visual arts. The ground and intermediate floors are occupied by an architecture studio. From January onwards, a small café will operate in the tower, where Eliza will brew her own coffee and bake homemade cakes inspired by the flavours of her childhood. No secret recipes or Instagram trends – with the flair, passion and warmth of a host.
Eliza dreams of intimate lectures, film screenings, discussion meetings and jazz concerts. She prefers the atmosphere of intellectual clubs over loud parties, assuming that architecture can be an advertisement for the architect and space can be a driving force for cultural development.
Culture harvester: the multifunctional space of the future
The owner’s immediate vision is a so-called ‘harvester’ of culture – a place that combines architecture, art and neighbourhood relations. One building will house a design office, an art gallery, a café, a supper club, a drawing school and a workshop hub for design enthusiasts. The tower is to be open to photographers, graphic designers, interior designers and anyone who loves architecture.
The owner of the building hopes that residents will make the tower a stop on their walks. The building is intended not to disturb the tranquillity of the neighbourhood, but at the same time to offer new experiences – from inspiring views to contact with art to intergenerational encounters.
design: Eliza Suder(www.elizasuder.com)
photos: Sebastian Szostek
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