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Water:
Outside of the LED faces, water
is the most important element of Plesna's fountain design.
The architects needed to find a way to pump and re-circulate
the water, to evenly distribute the water over the fountain's
top, and to create an arcing "spit" that won't knock
people over, all of these standing up over time. With numerous
consultants, full scale mock-ups became the norm for the project,
testing the glass and LED, but also the water at each step
in its journey. To deal with the aforementioned possibility
of dirt, a filter is used to remove impurities from the re-circulated
plaza water. The water is piped
from an underground pump (at the level of, and adjacent to,
the parking garage) to tubs along the perimeter parapet. A
custom glass block was made for the edge, curving 90 degrees
to create the impression of an invisible edge though also
giving the water a gentle surface as it begins its descent.
To create the effect of the faces spitting, another custom
piece was created, a plastic nozzle
fitted to the stainless steel frame. Via various mock-ups,
the right hole size, quantity, spacing, etc. was determined
so the city and the architect would not incur lawsuits for
knocking over or hurting any kids getting hit with the stream. |
