A strange tower stands next to the river in Liège’s Parc de la Boverie.
Nothing explains its purpose. It looks like it might be a phone mast. Or maybe a relic of the Cold War. But no, it is a Cybernetic Tower. Rising 52 metres above the Meuse, the tower was designed by the artist Nicolas Schöffer in 1961.
Considered one of the first examples of cybernetic art, it was fitted with various sensors that measured sound, light, humidity and wind. The data was fed into a basic computer located in the nearby Palais des Congrès that controlled motorised parts, light projectors and musical fragments.
The futuristic structure didn’t run for long. It was shut down in 1970 when the city got rid of the operator. But this forgotten monument of modernity has been restored. It was finally switched on again in 2016.
Derek Blyth’s hidden secret of the day: Derek Blyth is the author of the bestselling “The 500 Hidden Secrets of Belgium”. He picks out one of his favourite hidden secrets for The Brussels Times every day.
