Water Towers
Nina’s obsession with water towers
Nina is obsessed with water towers. She loves these industrial landmarks that one finds scattered throughout all five boroughs. When she comes across a water tower during her frequent walks through Manhattan or Brooklyn, she photographs it. From multiple angles. Nina stops in her tracks and forgets herself and everyone around her. Yes, some may say she’s got an issue there.
Nina’s obsession with water towers has taken her on an art venture to create a stylized model that she can keep at her desk to adore at all times. So here we are!
machined + hand-crafted
Over the last couple of years, Nina taught herself a 3d-modeling software which enabled her to create industrial designs and CNC-production drawings. After many 3d-modeling failures and embarrassing calls with metal shops, Nina finally landed on a design that not only pleased her eye but also incorporated a variety of materials. She was able to embed existing old plastic tubes as a cylindrical element. These plastic tubes (which had been saved from their final doom on a landfill) add a touch of color and make each water tower unique. While all metal parts are precisely machined (in brass and stainless steel) and identical, the plastic tubes are somewhat “raw” and require refinement by hand. Nina files the edges, removes imperfections and deep scratches before she assembles the water towers by hand.
The water towers measure between 4 and 4.5 inches in height.
Availability + Pricing
Nina releases her Water Towers one-by-one as she completes them. They start at $150 and include free domestic shipping. To secure a water tower for yourself, please follow Nina’s Instagram feed as she announces new water towers on social media first. You can also email Nina at nina@ninaboesch.com and request to reserve a future water tower.
What Makes these towers so unique?
Each water tower is made of either stainless steel or brass with a plastic cylinder as the tank portion. The plastic cylinders have had a previous life as produce bag rollers in a NYC grocery store.* They come in different colors and varying conditions. Most have slight imperfections and show a little wear. Nina smoothes out any scratches and dings with fine sandpaper and filing tools.
*Grocery stores usually dispose of these waste products so they mostly end up in landfill. Nina is lucky to have received a few bags full of these colorful tubes from the green captain of a large grocery store chain.