Show fountains and rockwork can be a beautiful addition to any project

Show fountains and rockwork can be beautiful additions to any project; however, some may wonder about the tangible benefits of adding these features to a design. Show fountains and rockwork actually offer four major sensory connections to your guests: sight, sound, movement and emotion. By invoking these four senses, you can make a real and positive change to your overall guest experience.

Sight

A show fountain’s visual appeal is what typically gives this dynamic feature its first impression. Through a combination of choreography, lighting and special effects, show fountains can be used to create heart-pounding energy or a deep emotional connection. Although many participatory fountains rely on music, color shifts using specialty lighting can produce powerful results on their own. From using random color patterns to producing hundreds or thousands of color variations, lighting can be used to delight crowds of all ages and backgrounds. Additional special effects such as fog and fire can be integral to the show fountain’s theme or be used to provide intermittent drama and flair. Whatever form you choose for your show fountain, your guests will be treated to a unique and entertaining experience as they watch water be magically directed into many artful displays.

Sound

The sounds your guests hear while visiting your project can be equally as impactful as the sights they see. Sound can also help them feel more comfortable, excited and engaged as they explore your project’s many facets.
Fountains are often associated with calming and regenerative effects associated with the gentle auditory rippling of water. Yet hearing the crashing and pounding percussion of waves and torrents can also invoke drama and intrigue. Similarly, the sounds of water cascading down your rockwork or retreating as it falls back in your show fountain in a syncopated rhythm, also offer varying options of soothing or dramatic effects.

Combining your show fountain with music offers a virtual world of opportunity for creating a mood or changing a creative direction. From communicating edgy rebellion to classical majesty, music can be used to perfectly convey your project’s vision.

Movement

Few things demand as much attention as a moving object. But willing water to dance on command in a show fountain is the equivalent of holding a moon beam in a jar. It requires both an appreciation of its power and an understanding of its natural tendencies. That’s why the art of choreography is so vital to a project’s success. Through synchronized twists and sprays of water, an ordinarily space can be transformed into entertainment to be experienced again and again, to everyone’s delight.
Similarly, in creating an organic water environment, the ability to harness and manipulate the graceful and dynamic movement of water does not come easily or quickly. To be told or led to believe otherwise does not bode well for the design/builder or for those who attempt to redirect water’s natural intentions in an artificial environment. However, with artistic endurance and a will to persevere, it can be done. But to create rockwork or water flows that exhibit the notion of geo-believability, one must study nature, understand why it does what it does and replicate it with great natural enthusiasm while understanding that, in the wild, water is not chaotic, but beautifully purposeful. It is this commitment to natural realism that leads the designer to a place that provides the best guest experience.

Emotions

Throughout history, fountains have been used to embody symbolic, artistic and social ideas as they enliven places and reinvigorate people. This remains true even today. The sense of wonder and joy people experience when they see a beautiful fountain or geologically believable rockwork contributes to a strong subliminal and emotional connection they embrace forever. Fountains and organic formations are common gathering places for people to share meals, have a conversation and forge relationships. They also serve as a strong focal point and landmark by which people can navigate through your project. The more intricately designed and built your fountains and rockwork are, the more people will gravitate to them psychologically.

With the right planning, you can create the exact emotional connection you desire while giving your guests an experience they will never forget.

“… Happy in all that ragged, loose Collapse of water, its effortless descent And flatteries of spray…”

By Poet Richard Wilbur, “A Baroque Wall-Fountain in the Villa Sciarra,” Rome, 1956