On long journeys through Central and Western Europe and the United States, Bernd and Hilla Becher have collected a wealth of examples of industrial water towers since 1957. Although water towers are functional buildings that occupy a clearly subordinate position in the hierarchy of architecture, the examples photographed by the Bechers between the turn of the century and the present day reveal an unparalleled variety of forms in which national styles and local traditions are reflected, as well as the imagination, temperament, and innovative spirit of their builders.