photo source

huge steel structures similar to the one photographed above are a common sight here in the uk and can usually be found rusting next to busy, permanently jammed roads, the location seemingly picked purely to confuse kids in the back of slow-moving cars. when i was even smaller than i am now it never dawned on me to even question the existence of these massive cylindrical beasts - maybe i was so used to seeing them that they were simply part of the landscape - and i only discovered their ‘raison d’etre’ a few years ago when a story told by my girlfriend made me realise that i didn’t already know.

anyway, they’re called gasometers and, as you may have guessed, are basically enormous gas containers. there’s a simple diagram here illustrating the method by which gasometers store the gas and a fairly decent explanation of all things gasometer at wikipedia here.

the reason for this post though is to show you 2 incredible converted gasometers that resemble structures from another world and illustrate that demolition shouldn’t always be the answer when industrial structures come to the end of their career. with a bit of imagination even an enormous disused gas container can look incredibly inviting whilst also serving a new purpose.

oberhausen gasometer, germany

website - googlemaps

photo sources: (clockwise from top left) 1, 2, 3

now resembling something straight from the set of a sci-fi film, this 117.5m tall structure in germany was once the world’s 2nd largest active gasometer. obviously it lost that title when it stopped containing gas and then, following renovation, became europe’s tallest exhibition hall. since then it’s become a major attraction and has a constant stream of visitors eager to check out the interior and the exhibitions, concerts and seminars it plays host to. the lighting in this place is incredible and compliments the industrial architecture so effectively as to briefly transport you to another world.

gasometer city, austria

website - googlemaps

photo source


before the early 1980s these 4 delicate monsters helped to supply vienna with gas. then in 1995, following the gasometers’ retirement in 1984, a competition of sorts was announced by local authorities in order to gain an outside opinion of the future of the structures. 4 architects’ design entries were chosen, 1 for each gasometer, and over the next few years they were transformed into what some residents now call ‘gasometer city’. each is divided into sections with apartments at the top, offices in the middle and shopping / entertainment venues at the base, the result being a slightly bizarre mini-city that’s absolutely full of character.

if you know of any other stunning, brilliant or just fantastic gasometer conversions let me know in the comments section.