Circular watchtower becomes circular pavilion

The circular watchtower that could be found last year on the corner of the Westlandseweg and Nieuwe Gracht was demolished last month. The tower will be given a special new purpose: the wood will be used in the construction of a circular pavilion, in memory of Jacques van Marken, founder and director of the former Gist Brocades factory in Delft. The pavilion will be built this autumn in the Hortus Botanicus of Delft University of Technology.

Circular structure

The temporary watchtower was designed by Edmund Thomas Green and Ludvig Sundberg, who won a design competition organised by study association D.B.S.G. Stylos and Nieuw Delft. The starting point for the design was that the materials could be reused. Therefore no screws, nails or glue were used, but the beams were clamped together with steel bands. This keeps the wooden planks in one piece and makes the construction easy to dismantle.

More information

• Read here how the tower was constructed on the Westlandseweg site.
• Read also the complete article about the demolition of the tower and the reuse of the wood on the website of NieuwDelft (Dutch only)
• Read more about the role of Jacques van Marken for the city of Delft and an earlier design assignment for our students for a Jacques van Marken museum.