180° of Light show

photo by SteveRSVR

180° of Light is a laser installation linking water towers in Rothwell, Desborough and Corby in the British Midlands with laser beams to form a triangle, the alchemical symbol of water. The project is a part of a county-wide series of site specific artworks on  Northamptonshire's rivers, canals, waterways and water towers. There has already been an installation on Northamptonshire's Oxford canal and there will be a further installation at Sywell Reservoir in October. NESTA fellow Jo Fairfax and FLOW manager Graham Callister came up with the idea. Visible from the A14, the project is part of Igniting Ambition Festival and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. The lasers shine from 7.30 to 9.30 pm until 2nd October 2011. Its website gives a raison d'etre:

This site-specific artwork highlights the architectural beauty, science and necessity of water towers in today’s society. Among their many uses, water towers provide pressure to maintain the safety of the water supply, without which water may not spray from a tap with sufficient FLOW.

By using several strikingly bold lasers, this site-specific, large scale installation produces a formal dynamic between the imposing circular drums of the water towers and the stunning, elevated triangle of light which unites them. Dominating the Northamptonshire landscape, 180° of Light encourages conversations both of architectural form and journey.

The artist, Jo Fairfax, described the installations:

“Creating a giant laser triangle hovering in the sky makes me smile. Each water tower forms the corner of the laser triangle creating a conversation in form - the circle of the water drum with the triangle of light. The journey of light is evident and the journey of water is implied, another conversation. The moving striated visual effect created as the laser light breaks down over distance implies a sense of journey. The water tower drum containing water held high, water reader to enter and exit, implies a journey. The two meet either side of the water drum. Both dynamic, one in its speed and break down, the other in its potential and pressure. Water and light, like siblings with a story to tell”.

Key funders included Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK, Northamptonshire County Council, Anglian Water and Breath of Fresh Air, East Midlands.

More information about FLOW


BBC news slideshow http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-14983682


Here's map of the laser 'field' to aid viewing:

View flow towers in a larger map



BWTAS context:

Illuminating water towers has a long history and was commonplace when water towers were novel and objects of civic pride. The Thorpe Hamlet water tower in Norwich was illuminated for a year to commemorate George V's silver jubilee in 1935. A couple of generations later, illumination of towers was used as way of reasserting their monumental quality and renewing civic pride as part of regeneration schemes. Cranhill Arts Project in Glasgow illuminated their local tower a vibrant green with white spotlights and nearby the Craigend water towers were illuminated as part of Glasgow's reign as the European City of Culture. The city council's lighting strategy webpage asserts: "Good lighting helps to increase vitality and improve ambience. It contributes to a sense of identity and place, makes for a safer, friendlier environment and also supports and complements other regeneration initiatives."

Another concrete water tower for sale

You wait for one to come on the market and then suddenly there's two of them...

This reinforced concrete water tower in Norhamptonshire is on the market for £100,000

A rather plain and common type with not much room on the ground floor and it will need an inventive architect to work out window placement without making it look uglier than it is now.

BBC video here

Report in the Northants Evening Telegraph:

Turn this into your dream home for £100,000

Published Date: 14 January 2009

By Will Ockendon

Who would live in a water tower like this? You could if you have £100,000 to spare.

The tower used to contain several thousand gallons of water but is now set to be someone's des res.

The disused structure in Great Doddington is up for sale at a recommended price of £100,000, along with planning permission to convert it into a residential property.

Although it is one of the more unusual properties that estate agent King West of Northampton has dealt with, they say they have already received interest from several potential buyers.

Andrew Kilburn of King West said: "It is not often you see something like this on the market.

"It is going to be a very contemporary property – very individual."

Standing in Cut Throat Lane just outside the village, the building would make an unusual property for a buyer who is prepared to put the work into converting it into a home.

Although the concrete tower looks grey and faceless, the estate agent believes that with windows put in and a roof extension added it could become a trendy 21st century home.

Mr Kilburn said: "You can imagine an artist or someone like that living there. The top floor will be so light and airy.

"It is not going to suit your run-of-the- mill buyer. It is will suit somebody looking for something very individual and a little bit quirky."

Architectural plans show the building could be converted into a four-floor home with an entrance hall, shower and bedroom on the ground floor, a bedroom and bathroom on the first floor, kitchen and dining room on the second floor, and a living room, with an impressive view, on the fourth floor.

Wellingborough Council approved planning permission for conversion of the tower to a single dwelling in September.

Water tower conversions are not unknown, with one red brick example already in existence in Finedon.

• Last Updated: 14 January 2009 8:13 AM
• Source: Northants Evening Telegraph
• Location: Kettering