Water Towers

The Torri dell'Acqua (Water Towers), which rise in the historic centre of Budrio, have served as an aqueduct for almost a century till 2009, when it underwent an important restoration work jointly promoted by the Municipality of Budrio, the Compagnia di San Paolo Foundation and Emilia Romagna.

The restoration plan by Architect Andrea Oliva awarded the 4^th edition of the “Premio Centocittà”, one of the most prestigious prizes within the field of Italian architecture, for saving a building of great historical, symbolic value from unrestrainable urban decay as well as restoring its original cultural, social function in a contemporary, creative way.

The building serves as a polyfunctional centre now with music, reading, meeting rooms where new generations from different cultures have a chance to confront each other in a constructive way.

The restoration work returned the building to Budrio and its inhabitants as a unique example of industrial archaeology with a multicommunication function: the house of water acts on behalf of water itself as a means of communication between people from different cultures.

Rooms are located on multilevel floors and look like bubbles hanging in space due to the right mixture of materials like glass, iron, cement and wood and a good lighting system.