Our work seeks that unique and masterful water action that singlehandedly resolves the essentials of the design problem. Water ideas focus, elevate and ennoble water’s role in a project while greatly simplifying the water feature’s scenic requirements.
Through our studies of historic fountains, we have observed that three specific values, or qualities, are shared by all of the finest examples: Superlative Water Expression, Welded into Place, and Meaningful.
Though the medium is inherently dynamic, applied transformations can further enhance the power of the work. For twenty years, Fluidity has been tinkering in the unsanctioned art of water choreography, uncovering aesthetic authenticity and delighted public responses.
No design is exactly like another, and complete predictability is infeasible. It is said that the project built without a mockup becomes, itself, the mockup. Mockups are an art. Fluidity employs computer modeling and physical constructions to test and develop water action design concepts for discovery, development and refinement purposes.
There are no college degrees in water feature design. We all learn on the job—which is very good in some ways, but it leaves a lot out. The rounded professional must know more. Fluidity’s internal culture addresses these needs.
‘Fountain Safari’ is a twenty-five-year project (so far), dedicated to faraway site visits and learning all we can about the great water features in history, from Western Europe to Japan, India, the Middle East, and the Americas. This effort has proved to be more exciting and valuable than we might have guessed. The legacy of city-making has incorporated innovative fountain ideas for over two millennia. And the knowledge Fluidity has acquired of these prized fountains has directly influenced our work in the contemporary mode.
From the most modest creeks to the mightiest cataracts, we have learned from water in nature; its twists, pools, eddies and falls, and its glitter, its shadows and sounds. We record our findings in photos, video and sketches for learning, and sometimes, for transformation into contemporary water designs.
The project of improving the planet is addressed in water design through advanced design concepts, the reduction of the consumption of water and power, minimizing the use of harsh treatment chemicals, embracing living systems, contributing positively to the biodiversity of the micro-context, and engineering for operational simplicity.
We ever aim for more innocent designs, intimately tied to nature and construction, meaningful in their places, reliable, enduring, visually and sonically delightful, and cherished by their communities.
