The ongoing brutalism revival has scored two major wins lately. First, moviegoers responded enthusiastically to The Brutalist, Brady Corbet’s three-and-a-half-hour celebration of concrete. Meanwhile, in Sweden, the designers at White Arkitekter made their own case for the movement’s ongoing relevance. The seaport town of Varberg was never lacking for notable attractions — a castle built in the late 13th century and an early radio station facility are two of its historic draws. But with a growing residential population, the locality was in need of a water tower with higher capacity.

Stretching 187 metres long, a rippling water reservoir in Varberg, Sweden, rests on nine pillars.

An elevator and staircase are tucked into the middle one.

The solution that the White design team came up with (working in collaboration with local government and the municipal water company Vivab) holds some 10,000 cubic metres of aqua — five times the capacity of its predecessor — while also adding a distinctive modern attraction to Varberg’s tourism portfolio. The design’s name, Våga Water Tower, plays on the dual nature of the Swedish term “våga,” which can mean both “wave” and “dare.” If brutalism has indeed returned, White Arkitekter’s audacious infrastructure project is at the crest of the comeback.