Bethesda Row

Curious about our new fountain?

October 8, 2011

Our new fountain allegorically depicts the water cycle.  The design represents the constant cycle of water movement from clouds to precipitation to groundwater flow to lake/ocean storage to evaporation. Each element of the fountain represents a stage of water’s movement through the cycle.

In the fountain, the cycle begins with the three steel columns that create bursts of water vapor resembling small clouds and representing the evaporation and condensation processes. The steel columns are an abstract representation for the trees that will ultimately benefit from the nourishing rains that the clouds produce. At the base of the columns (the ground plane), a stone mosaic of twisting roots or branches symbolizes the trees’ mechanisms (root system) for water uptake.

The curved wall is emblematic of the earth. The black stone presents a symbolic expression of the dark nutrient-rich soil; the steel rill serves as a river conduit transporting water in the hydrologic cycle; the green stone represents diverse flora of the environment. The green stone wall has crenulations that allow water from the rill (river) to trickle down the wall toward the mosaic, representing the infiltration of water into the soil and roots of the flora. The circular grate at the base of the wall collects the water and is symbolic of underground aquifers that store water. At its terminus, the rill, like a river, discharges its remaining water into a ponding area, the stone basin.

The stone basin symbolizes lakes and ponds that temporarily hold water on its way to the ocean. Lakes are our source of freshwater, and this concept is characterized by the clear color of the water in the basin. The stone basin discharges its water through a small channel, or river, into the large lower basin that is the largest body of water, an ocean.

The lower basin’s glass tile tints the water the color of oceans and seas. The earthen colored seat wall represents the shores that surround the oceans. The juxtaposition of shore wall and ocean basin affords us the symbolic ability to interface with the vast ocean at its edge. Finally, all the while, evaporation is occurring undetected around us, and water begins its long journey all over again.

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