Observation tower Kiek Oet Goor

The master plan Getting Up Steam, that we drew up in collaboration with De Zwarte Hond to transform the site of the former steam-driven bleachery (Twentsche Stoomblekerij) in Goor, outlines a trajectory for the construction of many dwellings. At the same time, the plan elevates the spatial, economic and social quality of the whole of Goor to a higher level in a manner that contributes to climate adaptation and biodiversity. Exceptional buildings will be preserved, but buildings of lesser quality will disappear. By adding a new layer – linked with the location and its story – we add extra quality.

At one time the horizon of Twente was dotted by the many chimneys that stood on the site of Getting Up Steam in Goor. The older generation in Goor knows these brick chimneys as characteristic elements of the factory and the activity that went on there. The last of these chimneys was as tall and visible as the tower of the village church. This last surviving chimney, a symbol of the famous industrial past of TSB in Goor, disappeared from the skyline a few years ago. The moment that a dozen explosives brought down the chimney is recorded in photographs, and it is precisely this moment that we have transformed into (the proposal for) an object: Kiek Oet! (Watch Out!)

Kiek Oet is an observation tower inspired by the collapsing chimney, but it does not collapse. It is held in place by a wooden frame construction. The proposed location is the very one where the last chimney stood and fell. Kiek Oet is thereby a link between past, present and future, and functions not only as an observation tower but also as a clock. The time can be read in the dialect of Twente: vief veur twoalf etc. etc. But above all Kiek Oet is an observation tower. You can go into it via a staircase, peer outside while you ascend, and once you have reached the top you will have an expansive view of the new TSB site.