Riyadh Water Tower
{{Infobox building
| name = Riyadh Water Tower
| native_name = برج مياه الرياض
| native_name_lang = ar
| alternate_names = Burj al-Khazzaan
Khazzaan Murabba
| image = Old Riyadh Water Tower.JPG
| caption = Riyadh Water Tower viewed from the Murabba Square, 2007
| location = King Faisal Road, King Abdul Aziz Historical Centre, al-Fouta, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| highest_start = 1971
| highest_end = 1981
| highest_region = Saudi Arabia
| location_town =
| location_country =
| coordinates = {{Coord|24|38|42|N|46|42|44|E|type:city_region:SA|display=inline,title}}
| start_date = 1969
| completion_date = 1971
| inauguration_date =
| architect = Sune Lindström
| highest_next = Riyadh TV Tower
| building_type = Water tower
| structural_system = standard reinforced concrete, prestressed concrete
| height = 61 meters
| main_contractor = AB Vattenbyggnadsbyrån
}}
Riyadh Water Tower ({{Langx|ar|برج مياه الرياض}}), locally known as Burj al-Khazzaan ({{Langx|ar|برج الخزان|lit=the reservoir tower}}) or simply al-Khazzaan ({{Langx|ar|الخزان|lit=the reservoir}}),{{Cite book |last=Elsheshtawy |first=Yasser |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aH08EAAAQBAJ&dq=riyadh+water+tower+khazan&pg=PT279 |title=Riyadh: Transforming a Desert City |date=2021-09-27 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-000-46064-3 |language=en}} is a 61-meters tall conical-shaped cylindrical water tower and a prominent cultural landmark in the al-Futah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.{{Cite book |last=Bsheer |first=Rosie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyT3DwAAQBAJ&dq=riyadh+water+tower&pg=PT220 |title=Archive Wars: The Politics of History in Saudi Arabia |date=2020-09-22 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-1258-7 |language=en}} Designed by Swedish architect Sune Lindström and modeled after the Svampen water tower in Örebro, Sweden, it was the tallest structure in the country at the time of its inauguration in 1971 and is today located within the precincts of al-Watan Park in the King Abdulaziz Historical Center.{{Cite web |title=أبرز المباني والأبراج في السعودية خلال 50 عاماً {{!}} مجلة سيدتي |url=https://www.sayidaty.net/node/537021 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=www.sayidaty.net |language=ar}}[http://www.alriyadh.com/861857 - برج مياه الرياض ... معجزة البناء من الأعلى! - صحيفة الرياض - 24 - اغسطس - 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118001120/http://www.alriyadh.com/861857|date=18 يناير 2017}}{{Cite web |title=تاريخ بناء برج المياه في الرياض وصور قديمة له |url=https://www.almrsal.com/post/411579 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=المرسال |language=ar}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QxaDwAAQBAJ&dq=%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AC+%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6&pg=PT89 |title=مجلة الفيصل: العدد 165 |date=1990-10-01 |publisher=مركز الملك فيصل للبحوث والدراسات الإسلامية |language=ar}}{{Cite web |title=رحلة إلى مركز الملك عبد العزيز التاريخي |url=https://www.al-jazirah.com/2000/20000809/fe1.htm |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=www.al-jazirah.com}} The famous Khazan Street in the city is named after the water tower.{{Cite book |last=Al-Khamis |first=Omaima |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNGgDwAAQBAJ&dq=riyadh+water+tower+khazan&pg=PA88 |title=Sea-Wafted Women |date=2019-06-13 |publisher=Dorrance Publishing |isbn=978-1-64426-288-7 |language=en}}
Overview and background
File:Svampen from Bergkällebacken, Örebro.jpg water tower in Örebro, Sweden, which the Riyadh Water Tower was modeled after]]
File:Riyadh Water Tower close up.jpg
As Riyadh underwent unprecedented expansion and modernization during the 1960s and 1970s, the city lacked a water-supply network to fulfil the needs of its residents. The then Saudi government led by King Faisal tasked the agriculture ministry to come up with a solution by constructing a water tower. The ministry later gave the project to a Swedish architect Sune Lindström in 1969 who worked for the now defunct Stockholm-based Vattenbyggnadsbyrån (VBB) engineering company (later acquired by Sweco in 1997){{Cite book |last=Kultermann |first=Udo |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hQZQAAAAMAAJ&q=riyadh+water+tower+park |title=Contemporary Architecture in the Arab States: Renaissance of a Region |date=1999 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-0-07-036831-6 |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=الهطلاني |first=الدكتورة مضاوي حمد الناصر |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YRntDwAAQBAJ&dq=%D9%81.+%D8%A8.+%D8%A8+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9+%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AC+%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6&pg=PT160 |title=مدينة الرياض: دراسة تاريخية في التطور السياسي والاقتصادي والاجتماعي والثقافي 1902 - 1975 م / 1320 - 1395 هـ |date=1996-11-25 |publisher=OBEIKAN Education |isbn=978-9960-20-235-8 |language=ar}}{{Cite book |last=Haṭalānī |first=Muḍāwī Ḥamad al-Nāṣir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EIa3AAAAIAAJ&q=%D9%81.+%D8%A8.+%D8%A8+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9+%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%AC+%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6 |title=Madīnat al-Riyāḍ: dirāsah tārīkhīyah fī al-taṭawwur al-siyāsī wa-al-iqtiṣādī wa-al-ijtimāʻī wa-al-thaqāfī, 1902-1975 M./ 1320-1395 H. |date=1996 |publisher=Maktabat al-ʻUbaykān |language=ar}} to develop and implement a plan for a modern water-supply system for Riyadh. Lindström and VBB had simultaneously been employed by the Kuwaiti government as well for the design and construction of the Kuwait Water Towers.
The ministry chose the site upon the ruins of a demolished casino{{Cite web |title=تاريخ بناء برج المياه في الرياض وصور قديمة له |url=https://www.almrsal.com/post/411579 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=المرسال |language=ar}}{{Cite web |title=الخرج اليوم {{!}} بني على أنقاض |url=https://nabd.com/s/73820833-6d2ef1/بني-على-أنقاض-كازينو-..-ماذا-تعرف-عن-برج-المياه-بالرياض-وقصة-بنائه-العجيبة؟-(فيديو) |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=موقع نبض}}{{Cite web |last=السيد |first=نور |date=2020-06-15 |title="معجزة البناء من الأعلى".. كشف معلومات مثيرة عن برج المياه بالرياض وقصة بنائه العجيبة !- فيديو |url=https://al-marsd.com/article/43641/آخر%20الأخبار/معجزة-البناء-من-الأعلى-كشف-معلومات-مثيرة-عن-برج-المياه-بالرياض-وقصة-بنائه-العجيبة---فيديو |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=صحيفة المرصد |language=ar}} located in close proximity of the Murabba Palace compound for the construction of the water tower to cater the needs of neighborhoods in the vicinity like al-Malazz, Manfuhah and Shumaisi.{{Cite web |date=2019-04-07 |title=فرنسي يطور برج مياه الرياض بالتعاون مع الثقافة السعودية |url=https://www.albawabhnews.com/3552219 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=www.albawabhnews.com}}{{Cite web |date=2020-06-15 |title=تحفة معمارية علي أنقاض كازينو.. ماذا تعرف عن قصة بناء برج المياه بالرياض |url=https://www.elbalad.news/4363800 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=صدى البلد |language=ar-eg}}
The tower contains two tanks, the first one has a filling capacity of 12,000 cubic meters, with the highest water level reaching 51 meters above the ground. The second one has a filling capacity of 350 cubic meters for emergency use during extreme shortages.{{Cite web |title=برج الخزان بالرياض معلم حضاري يزين حديقة الوطن - الهادي التليلي |url=https://www.al-jazirah.com/2021/20210611/aa2.htm |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=www.al-jazirah.com}}
It was repainted in 1997 during the reign of King Fahd to observe the upcoming hundredth anniversary of the 1902 Battle of Riyadh.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dtXL9BPcka4C&dq=riyadh+water+tower+public+parks&pg=RA19-PA7 |title=Saudi Arabia |date=1994 |publisher=Information Office of the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. |language=en}}
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