TOWER, 2013

Water, management system, software, steel beams, gratings
25 x 6 x 8 m

Commission, Urbane Künste Ruhr, RuhrTriennale

The sculpture cycles almost thirty thousand litres of water per minute to create a monolithic form, an ephemeral tower that appears and disappears instantaneously. The sound of the falling drops is intensely loud and a sensation of moisture lingers in the air. Through the senses, Tower explores possibilities for engagement with, and access to, an historic, industrial space on a scale that had not originally been intended for human / social use. The simulated structure of Tower is transient, its watery presence a temporary spectre. This is in stark contrast to the solid and static architecture of UNESCO World Heritage site, Zeche Zollverein, where six million cubic metres of water are pumped out of the former mines every year in order to warrant the structural integrity of the entire region. By bringing such large quantities of water into the controlled form of a building, RANDOM INTERNATIONAL investigate if a structural purpose can wrought upon this otherwise chaotic element.