
In Barcelona, a new tower made of colored glass
A project by GCA Architects uses AGC’s Planibel Coloured glass to to realize the Torre Colonial, a 21-story building that now becomes part of the city’s skyline.
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Functional structures, celebratory monuments or scenic backdrops positioned ad hoc in cities: from Roman times, to the Baroque and up to the present day, public fountains have never ceased to be a stimulating design element, sometimes transcending their mere role as furnishings to become emblems of urban regeneration, places of social life and iconic symbols capable of underlining the identity of a place and its community.
There are several contemporary realisations all over the world that represent, thanks to an effective balance between art, design and landscape architecture and to the use of sophisticated hydraulic technologies, driving nodes of new urban energies. Interventions that are commemorative (Robert Woodward, Gustafson Porter + Bowman) and scenic (Isamu Noguchi, King Fahd Fountain and Jet d'Eau, Andreé Heller, Michel Corajoud, Tunnel of surprises); poetic (Ondřej Císler, Daniel Buren), ironic (Shu Yong) or generative of new sociabilities (Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, Krueck & Sexton Architects, Raumlaborberlin, Foster + Partners): whether interactive or intimist, the fountain brings to cities – in addition to concrete micro-climatic benefits – the fascination of water that, between splashes and light effects, rekindles in the observer that sense of wonder and emotional involvement that sometimes may have been left in the background.

Robert Woodward, Philip Taranto, El Alamein Fountain, Sydney, Australia 1962
The memorial dedicated to the Australian army dead in the battle of El Alamein consists of three water tanks at different levels and a fountain resembling a dandelion, perhaps suggesting the fragility of human life.
Photo by Angusf from Worpress

Robert Woodward, Philip Taranto, El Alamein Fountain, Sydney, Australia 1962
Photo Newton Grafitti from Worpress

Isamu Noguchi, Nine Floating Fountains, Osaka, Japan 1970
Originally designed for the 1970 World Expo in Osaka, the construction composed of monolithic cubes from which water escapes is an effective optical illusion: the volumes actually anchored to a pillar appear to float in the air, as if ejected by an endogenous force from the pool of water below.

Isamu Noguchi, Nine Floating Fountains, Osaka, Japan 1970

Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Fontaine des Automates, Paris, France 1983
Located in the Igor Stravinsky Square near the Centre Georges Pompidou, the joyful fountain consisting of a 580 sqm basin and 16 colourful aluminium sculptures that move thanks to water jets is a pleasant attraction for adults and children alike.
Photo Art_inthecity from Wordpress

Jean Tinguely, Niki de Saint Phalle, Fontaine des Automates, Paris, France 1983
Photo Art_inthecity from Wordpress

King Fahd Fountain, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1985
The fountain with the highest jet in the world pumps water from the Red Sea and projects it into the air up to an altitude of more than 300 m, depending on the wind. Illuminated at night, it is visible from every point in the city and is an unmistakable landmark of the area. The only precedent of its kind in Europe, the Jet d'Eau at Geneva's Eaux-Vives wharf, dating from the late 19th century, with its jet reaching a height of 140 m is an international landmark of the city.

King Fahd Fountain, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1985

Andreé Heller, Swarovski Fountain, Innsbruck, Austria 1995
Located at the entrance to 'Swarovski Crystal Worlds', the well-known company's theme park, the fountain featuring a giant's head with beady, glowing eyes, from whose mouth water pours out, is an invitation to enter the glittering, magical world of crystals.
Photo by Shadowgate from Wordpress

Andreé Heller, Swarovski Fountain, Innsbruck, Austria 1995
Photo by cloning girl from Wordpress

Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, London, UK 2004
The fountain, integrated into the natural slope of Hyde Park and characterised by a ring of Cornish granite that stands out sharply against the lawn, was designed to evoke the values of inclusion and accessibility, and to radiate energy: many people come here to interact with the water, conveyed along grooves and animated by jets of air.

Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, London, UK 2004
Photo Christine Matthews from Wikimedia Commons

Michel Corajoud, Miroir d'eau, Bordeaux, France 2006
The Miroir d'eau in front of the Place de la Bourse, part of the urban redevelopment process along the banks of the Garonne, covers at regular intervals of about half an hour a 130-metre long and 42- metre deep granite slab pavement. The hydraulic mechanism involves slow flooding: the square is covered with a 2 cm slab of water on which the façades of the buildings facing the square are reflected; as the water, collected in an 800m3 reservoir, recedes, a series of 900 nozzles inserted in the pavement form clouds of mist that envelop the square.
Foto Blaue Max da Wikimedia Commons

Michel Corajoud, Miroir d'eau, Bordeaux, France 2006
The Miroir d'eau in front of the Place de la Bourse, part of the urban redevelopment process along the banks of the Garonne, covers at regular intervals of about half an hour a 130-metre long and 42- metre deep granite slab pavement. The hydraulic mechanism involves slow flooding: the square is covered with a 2 cm slab of water on which the façades of the buildings facing the square are reflected; as the water, collected in an 800m3 reservoir, recedes, a series of 900 nozzles inserted in the pavement form clouds of mist that envelop the square.
Photo Aline Rockstud68 from Wikimedia Commons

Túnel de las Sorpresas, Lima, Peru 2007
The Túnel de las Sorpresas, located in the historic Parque de la Reserva, is part of the Magical Water Circuit that includes a series of 13 illuminated fountains and is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest water fountain complex in the world in a public park.

Túnel de las Sorpresas, Lima, Peru 2007

Krueck & Sexton Architects, The Crown Fountain, Chicago, USA 2011
Two translucent glass-brick towers lit by LEDs and placed in a reflecting pool of black granite are crossed by a blade of water and project images of local people: an interactive artwork conceived as a strong element of recognition of the area and its community.
Photo Serge Melki from Wordpress

Krueck & Sexton Architects, The Crown Fountain, Chicago, USA 2011
Photo Vincent Desjardins

Ondřej Císler, Three Fountains, Pilsem, Czech Republic 2010
The three monolithic fountains located in the medieval Republic Square recall in their shapes the figures of the city's coat of arms (the camel, the greyhound and the angel) and enrich the vast open space, introducing the element of water in memory of the ancient 'wasserkasten', large water basins for public use.

Ondřej Císler, Three Fountains, Pilsem, Czech Republic 2010

Daniel Buren, Three coloured fountain walls for a hexagon, Pistoia, Italy 2011
Located in the permanent museum park of contemporary art, called "The Spirit of the Place", in front of the Villa Medicea La Magia in Quarrata, the work is characterised by a hexagonal layout at the centre of which is a bench, also hexagonal, with a fountain; walls with smooth Carrara marble externally and grooved internally, which are reflected in mirrors of water, ideally define the boundaries of an intimate and contemplative space, from which one can see the extraordinary surrounding landscape.
Photo Alessandro Pasquali - Danae Project from finestresullarte.info

Daniel Buren, Three coloured fountain walls for a hexagon, Pistoia, Italy 2011
Photo Alessandro Pasquali - Danae Project from finestresullarte.info

Shu Yong, WC Waterfall Fountain, Foshan, China 2009
The work, originally designed for the local ceramics and porcelain festival, consists of 10,000 recycled toilets, washbasins and urinals covering a wall 100m long and 5m high, from which playful and irreverent jets of water gush out in unison.

Shu Yong, WC Waterfall Fountain, Foshan, China 2009

Raumlaborberlin, Fountain house, Montreal, Canada 2014
The intervention has a strong symbolic value: on the one hand, it celebrates the concept of a public good - in this case, water - that is free and accessible; on the other hand, it is a place of interaction and exchange for the community; finally, it celebrates the value of life, generated by water and represented by the building's "skin", a cylindrical shell with arches that changes with the plants, fungi and small organisms that inhabit it. Ramps of stairs allow visitors to reach the roof of the structure and enjoy the urban panorama.

Raumlaborberlin, Fountain house, Montreal, Canada 2014

Foster + Partners, Apple Piazza Liberty, Milan, Italy 2018
Located a few steps from Corso Vittorio Emanuele, the project involves, in addition to the new underground Apple Store, the redevelopment of the square above it with the insertion of a terraced amphitheatre paved in Lombard stone and a fountain marking the scenographic entrance to the store: a parallelepiped glass volume containing the staircase and on whose walls the jets of water break, with variable reflections depending on the light.


PNA International Forum celebrates natural stone
What's the future of authentic natural stone? Find out at the PNA International Forum, an unmissable event set in the magical atmosphere of Venice on June 12th and 13th, 2025. Registration is now open, don't miss out!
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