Elegant Upgrade

By W. Skeet Norton, Site Planning Site Development, Inc.

The water feature was constructed totally out of structural concrete with a wet vault sunk beneath the fountain. The contractor poured in the entire structure of the water feature in a single monolithic pour, as a work crew hand placed rocks and shells during the pour. Setting up for the pour took a crew of carpenters, plumbers and electricians three weeks. The pour itself took 25 workers one day. The lighting is controlled by a separate time clock and exists not only under water in the Koi pond, but next to each fountain nozzle, and also in the fountain's exterior pockets. The fountain used an Aquascape Pro 10000 pump, and Roman Fountain Funnel Cascade Nozzles. Photos: W. Skeet Norton, Site Planning Site Development, Inc.

Site Planning Site Development, Inc. created a special water feature that became an integral architectural element for a new trendy restaurant, R+D Kitchen. Located in North Dallas, the project features a 2-tier fountain, Koi pond and a 30-foot weir of distressed concrete wall. According to the contractor, ''The client (Hillstone) desired to have a low-cost, low-maintenance, yet striking water feature to go along with their modern upscale architecture and interior finish out.''

The water feature sits along the restaurant's entire frontage, creating a barrier between the parking lot and the establishment's outdoor patio. The water feature is stocked with Koi and other exotic fish, so, water circulation and water environment was critical. Hillstone's vision was to bring a rustic seawall type of look on a much smaller scale by using distressed concrete as the finished product.

Waterproofing was accomplished by using a layer of Pebbletec terminated to create reveals in the concrete, which were previously created during the concrete pour. Assorted sizes of river rock cover the fountain floors.

The Project

Over several months, SPSD and its team experimented with different combinations of stacked concrete, river rock and seashells. A final process was decided upon which required hand placing and hand layering rock, concrete and sand, which when exposed and power-washed revealed the ''accidental secrets,'' which appear in the many pockets, crevices and exposed areas.

The water feature is made totally out of structural concrete with a wet-vault sunk beneath the fountain utilizing an Aquascape professional-grade submersible pump to circulate the water. The water feature was poured in a single monolithic pour with a large crew hand placing rocks and shells during the pour.

Pockets were created for future lighting by placing custom-made Styrofoam leave-outs in the pre-determined areas. Setting up for the pour took a crew of carpenters, plumbers, and electricians three weeks. Actually pouring the fountain took 25 workers one day. When the concrete forms were removed, the exposed concrete was pressure washed, which revealed the desired effect.

The Fountain

The fountain has two levels of water. The upper level acts as a retaining wall for an umbrella covered patio area. The upper fountain has five funnel-cascade nozzles, which aerate the water, create height, and also provide water sounds. This upper tier fountain with its moving water, flows over a 30-foot weir of distressed concrete wall creating numerous trickles, splashes, and drips in the many exposed crevices and pockets.

The fountain hydraulics are controlled by a simple time-clock, which runs 24 hours a day. An automatic fill is run by an electronic sensor in the lower pond and maintains a constant level by adding water to the upper fountain.

The fountain hydraulics are controlled by a simple time-clock, which runs 24 hours a day. An automatic fill is run by an electronic sensor in the lower pond and maintains a constant level by adding water to the upper fountain.

Lighting The Project

This lighting creates a wonderful combination at night of pedestrian sidewalk lighting along with the ambient light coming through the water and highlighting the fish and aquatic plants.

The lighting in the upper fountain highlights not only the fountain nozzles, but also lights underneath the table umbrellas reflecting light back onto the entire patio, creating a unique soft light effect.

Challenges

The biggest challenges in creating the R+D Kitchen water feature were the unknowns, which come when using structural concrete to create a finished design. ''We truly did not know what the final look would be until it was too late to change it. As it turned out, however, the Architect, Hillstone Development and SPSD were thrilled with the final result,'' explained the contractor.

The schedule is always a concern and SPSD had to construct the fountain in conjunction with the building going up around it and the grand opening deadline. The different contractors involved in the construction of the building worked in conjunction with the SPSD crews. The problems of a tight space and the short time frame were overcome. The project was completed and turned over to the client on time.

The End Result

The water feature at R+D Kitchen is truly a one of a kind project which was economical to build, easy to maintain, and positively enhances the environment around it.

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