What is an Architectural Fountain？

What is an Architectural Fountain？

Architectural fountains are the most common fountains – those great water and light features that can be seen in many city and village venues. Their presence takes the water's rhythm and glow to emblematic points such as roundabouts, public squares and circus or malls, among other backgrounds.

When an architectural fountain boasts built-in sculptural features, then it is known as sculptural fountain. These fountains combine water, light and movement with artistic figures made of different materials such as stone or bronze. This mixture of elements turns sculptural fountains into real landmarks where the water's own features (transparence, bright and sound) enhance the sculpture's presence.

Locations

Architectural fountains are outdoor fountains, designed to shine in the open air. They are usually located in relevant points of the cities and urban complex such as squares, circus, roundabouts and public buildings. They are also present in private places such as malls, big hotels and resorts. These fountains do not only provide any place with attractive but also serve as urban references for the people who live in the neighborhoods.

One or Many Scenarios

Though they can be really beautiful and complex, technologically architectural fountains are the simplest of all fountains. Water requires practically no control, although these fountains do mount systems that make it possible to program different scenerios (water features and jet combinations, depending on the moment). An architectural fountain can show an only scenario or a combination of different ones. The control panels are usually PLC systems (Programmable Logic Controller), a simple technology that saves resources while providing a great and spectacular look.

Different Types of Jets

The interest of an architectural fountain is manly given by the different jets included in its designs and by the combination of these jets through a good synchronization. The most common nozzles in these fountains are lance jet nozzles, snowy jet nozzles and cascade jet nozzles.

Though we have many other options too - more complex and less common nozzles -, with these three basic jet nozzle types it is possible to create stunning architectural and sculptural fountains, both classical and contemporary.

Underwater Illumination

In the daylight architectural fountains fill with interest the places where they are located, but during the night they are even more striking. So it is important to provide them with the right underwater illumination that makes it possible to see the jets and the water games in all their glory. A good underwater illumination system enhances the fountain’s beauty and interest. In the early days and for many years, incandescence light was the only option for the fountains; but recently LED technology has been developed and it is currently the prevailing trend.

In order to get the proper underwater illumination it is important to choose good submersible lights with quality designs. There are different possibilities:

1. Underwater stainless-steel LAKE lights – corrosion-proof and designed to stand hard conditions.

2. Underwater LED Rings– made of brass and INOX. Their design makes it possible to mount them in the jet nozzle so they remain integrated in the structure and there is no need to anchor them individually. LED Crowns provide the water jets with concentric lighting, achieving a great performance. This is quite an efficient product: an only LED Crown can give light to a full water jet so there is no need to use a number of underwater lights to get the same result (which would make the installation more expensive).

3. Underwater brass and plastic lights – underwater plastic lights are less expensive than brass units, but their luminous efficacy is similar. They are a great option to reduce costs while keeping an excellent performance. On the other hand, brass is a noble and consistent material with great resistance qualities. These underwater lights include small-sized Dichroic Lights and PAR 38 and 36 Lights (depending of the type of bulb).

An architectural fountain's design and magnificence are largely influenced by the quality and good performance of the chosen fountain equipment. By using the right material it is possible to design a competitive installation that will also guarantee the beauty and optimal performance of the architectural fountain.