Fountains Enliven Space at Any Scale

By Sonya McDowell, Nowell & Associates, Inc. and Jenny Boyle, regional editor

If you have ever traveled to San Diego, Calif., it is quite possible you have visited Mission Valley. Known as San Diego?EUR??,,????'???s central hub, Mission Valley is home to Hotel Circle, golf courses, and shopping centers all running along the San Diego River. If you?EUR??,,????'???ve taken a trip further north, to the OC, you might have caught the action at an Angels or Ducks game in Anaheim.The landscape architecture team at Nowell & Associates has been involved in various developments in those areas of Southern California. Here, we look at how the designers integrated fountains into four different design schemes.

Commercial center developers are now placing a heavier emphasis on enhancing social spaces, which is one reason the fountain was included at Fenton Marketplace. In fact, over 70 percent of the space there is devoted to socializing. Offering customers an area to rest promotes a lengthier shopping experience.

Fenton Marketplace

In 2000, Nowell & Associates was chosen to design Fenton Marketplace, a large-scale retail center in the Mission Valley district, home to the only IKEA south of Orange County and Southern California?EUR??,,????'???s first Lowe?EUR??,,????'???s Home Improvement Warehouse.

The current trend in retail design emphasizes socializing space. In fact, over 70 percent of space is devoted to this function and, in turn, provides an environment where shoppers enjoy staying longer. With this in mind, the design team, led by associate principal landscape architect, Brad Lenahan, created a fountain plaza as the main centerpiece of Fenton Marketplace?EUR??,,????'???s outdoor food court.

?EUR??,,????'??Food courts aren?EUR??,,????'???t just for the benefit of the people to have a nice lunch,?EUR??,,????'?? he explains. ?EUR??,,????'??Developers realize the value in constructing spaces where people actually want to stay and hang out. Fountains keep their interest and make them feel more comfortable.?EUR??,,????'??

Adds principal landscape architect, Gregory Nowell, ?EUR??,,????'??People have always been attracted to water. It makes a space more pleasant to be in.?EUR??,,????'??

According to Nowell, comfort was an important factor in the landscape design. When the retail center was announced, many community groups were unhappy about having such huge buildings in their neighborhood.

?EUR??,,????'??Many people have negative feelings about big-box retail,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??The challenge for this project was to develop the area around those big boxes with a pedestrian feel.?EUR??,,????'??

?EUR??,,????'??People have always been attracted to water. It makes a space more pleasant to be in.?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??+Gregory Nowell, Principal Landscape Architect

Adds Brad, ?EUR??,,????'??The goal was to make the project walkable and provide a visual link between the Costco and Ikea.?EUR??,,????'??

Drawing inspiration from the site?EUR??,,????'???s history as a sand and gravel-mining operation, the team, along with the developer and architect, decided on an architectural theme of natural elements that included the use of water and natural stone. Working closely with San Diego-based Fire Art Foundry, Lenahan designed a fountain using quartz ledger stone and 3/8?EUR??,,????'?? plate glass pieces. Just like the nearby San Diego River, the fountain is not static, but alive day and night. With the use of lighting, the plate glass windows illuminate at night creating the perfect visual stimulation for the space. The fountain also serves as an acoustic curtain, blocking out the sounds of the busy complex and nearby roads, creating the ideal atmosphere for outdoor dining.

Quartz ledger stone and 3/8?EUR??,,????'?? plate glass pieces were used to design the 16-foot diameter fountain at Fenton Marketplace. The stone fountain was built over a stainless cage that houses lights that shine through the plate glass pieces in the evening.

?EUR??,,????'??The fountain serves a dual purpose,?EUR??,,????'?? says Lenahan, ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s something to watch, but it also provides a nice sound. It makes it a more comfortable space to be in.?EUR??,,????'??

For plantings, Lenahan chose large and small-scale ornamental grasses?EUR??,,????'??+such as Maiden Grass and Purple Fountain Grass?EUR??,,????'??+that suggest the rhythmic flow of the nearby river. Accent plantings include New Zealand Flax, and Daylily varieties. Mature Date Palms provide an appropriate scale to the massive buildings and emphasize interior roadways. Eighteen-foot high stone columns and trellises support 12-foot diameter pots with cascading plant material, which serve to integrate the landscape with the building facades, while scaled down versions of these design features define pedestrian connections throughout the large site. The Fenton Marketplace shopping center has been highly successful and has redefined Mission Valley as a premier shopping destination within the county.

Eastlake Village Marketplace

Because of the success of Fenton Marketplace, Nowell was asked to do an overall design for Eastlake Village Marketplace, which included a fountain plaza. The shopping complex is located in the master-planned community of Eastlake, in Chula Vista, Calif. Lenahan drew design inspiration from the original rural character of the area, which included large sitting areas flanked with natural boulders, heavy timber trellises, multiple specimen Oak trees, and an emphasis on ornamental grasses.

?EUR??,,????'??Chula Vista used to be dairy and citrus,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s a real mild coastal climate, influenced by the ocean a hundred percent of the time. You don?EUR??,,????'???t have to go very far past the developed area to see the old barns.?EUR??,,????'??

When the fountain was originally constructed, the water came out of the reservoir and down the eight-foot long flume at break neck speed and made a big splash when it hit the pebble basin beneath. The designers lined the reservoir and flume with geotextile fabric, which absorbs the water as it flows and allows it to run smoothly through the fountain at a slower speed.

In keeping with the rural theme of the Eastlake Village Marketplace, the fountain is a tall cistern made of galvanized steel and natural stone. The cistern fills a steel bucket, that when full, tips and dumps the water into a large galvanized reservoir.

The Nowell team and the architect collaborated on a concept that would capture the spirit of the area.

?EUR??,,????'??The architect didn?EUR??,,????'???t want to come up with something that looked like a barn,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??What they did was abstract the essence of that type of architecture?EUR??,,????'???simple, straight-forward, functional.?EUR??,,????'??

This theme was to be carried into the fountain plaza design for Eastlake, which created a challenge for the design team. The fountain was planned to sit between two very popular restaurants. With anticipated lengthy wait times, the team needed a design that could capture people?EUR??,,????'???s attention. The team?EUR??,,????'???s first idea was to recreate a large windmill that would serve as a fountain and landmark for the shopping complex. The idea fit the history of the site, but was later discarded by the team for being too literal.

?EUR??,,????'??We wanted it to look like a remnant of a ranch landscape,?EUR??,,????'?? says Lenahan.

The idea evolved into a tall stone cistern. In keeping with the rural theme, the materials used for the fountain were galvanized steel, and large natural stone. To capture the attention of those waiting and passing by, the cistern fills a galvanized steel bucket, that when full, tips and dumps the water into a large galvanized reservoir, which in turn, fills and spills into an eight foot long flume that sends the water falling into a boulder enclosed basin.

?EUR??,,????'??You can?EUR??,,????'???t just build a fountain and plop it down anywhere.?EUR??,,????'???EUR??,,????'??+?EUR??,,????'??+Brad Lenahan, Associate Principal Landscape Architect

Sounds like a piece of cake, right? Well, water has a mind of its own, and a problem arose when the fountain moved from concept to construction. When the water dumped from the bucket down into the reservoir, it rushed too quickly, and caused excessive splashing. The water also rushed too quickly down the flume, causing it to splash outside the basin. Without disturbing the overall design, the team, along with AES Aquatic Equipment & Services, decided on using a geotextile mat within the reservoir and inside the flume. The mat worked by absorbing the water?EUR??,,????'???s energy and slowing it down.

?EUR??,,????'??The water has to find its way through all the fibers,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s a much more interesting effect. Instead of having this big gush, it goes in a sustained stream that lasts longer.?EUR??,,????'??

The final result is a sequenced fountain that completes its cycle every two minutes.

?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s a real kinetic fountain?EUR??,,????'???completely fabricated out of our imagination,?EUR??,,????'?? says Lenahan.

The Stadium Promenade

Nowell was chosen to work on the art deco-themed Stadium Promenade in Anaheim, Calif.; a 27-acre entertainment retail complex, just down the street from Angel Stadium and the Anaheim Pond. The developer put great emphasis on the need for a timepiece outside the 25-screen movie theatre. Instead of the obvious clock tower solution, Nowell proposed a monument scale fountain in the main plaza that serves two purposes: to entertain shoppers waiting for their movie, and to keep track of time by utilizing a sequenced water show.

The art-deco theme of the Stadium Promenade was carried out in the smallest of details. Eagle gargoyles were designed and added to the fountain as a subtle reference to the Chrysler Building?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???one of America?EUR??,,????'???s best-known art-deco constructions.

Rather than creating a standard clock tower to keep time in the Stadium Promenade, a fountain was utilized to mark each quarter hour. Every 15 minutes, a small water display occurs with growing intensity?EUR??,,????'????EUR??,,????'???with the largest spectacle happening on the hour.

?EUR??,,????'??Every developer wants a clock tower,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??We just said, ?EUR??,,????'??let?EUR??,,????'???s not do a clock tower.?EUR??,,????'??? I convinced them that what they really wanted was an interesting way to mark time.?EUR??,,????'??

On the quarter hour, the fountain display runs for a short time. Starting at 15 minutes a small water dome appears in the middle of the fountain. At 30 minutes, a center column of water shoots out of the dome. After 45 minutes, the water height rises. And after one hour, the water shoots up and performs an orchestrated cycle that dances with different intensities. For nighttime moviegoers, underwater lights add a dynamic dimension to the fountain and create a dramatic display.

Nowell designed the fountain with a strong art-deco theme, including eagle?EUR??,,????'???s head gargoyles as a subtle reference to the Chrysler Building. He also lined the fountain with art-deco-inspired tile patterns.

?EUR??,,????'??This was the first time we did something like this,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??It?EUR??,,????'???s really very cool.?EUR??,,????'??

The theatre draws on average 36,000 people every weekend and the plaza has become a must-see stop for shoppers and moviegoers alike.

Mission Hills Residence

On the opposite end of the scale, Nowell designed a small fountain for a Mission Hills residence. He planned to create the fountain with a glazed urn he discovered. The original design was to have the pot fill up with water that would eventually spill over the sides. But that design did not produce the desired sound Nowell had in mind.

Originally, the designer intended for water to fill up and spill over the top of this glazed urn. But the sound that was produced wasn?EUR??,,????'???t the one he had envisioned hearing. By running a 1/8?EUR??,,????'?? copper pipe through four small-drilled holes under the urn?EUR??,,????'???s lip, the falling water makes the desired ?EUR??,,????'??harmonious?EUR??,,????'?? sound.

?EUR??,,????'??It didn?EUR??,,????'???t make the right kind of noise,?EUR??,,????'?? he says. ?EUR??,,????'??I was looking for a harmonious sound.?EUR??,,????'??

He redesigned the fountain by running 1/8?EUR??,,????'?? copper pipe through small-drilled holes under the urn?EUR??,,????'???s lip. With the help of a small pump, the water lightly streams out of the urn, creating a soothing bubbling sound and creating a relaxing retreat for the residents.

Fountains are always beautiful, but as you can see, they have a multitude of functions.

?EUR??,,????'??Fountains must be designed with the context in mind,?EUR??,,????'?? says Nowell. ?EUR??,,????'??You must take the theme, purpose, and goal of the fountain in mind when designing.?EUR??,,????'??

Adds Lenahan, ?EUR??,,????'??You can?EUR??,,????'???t just build a fountain and plop it down anywhere.?EUR??,,????'??

Nowell and Lenahan both agree that a good starting point is listening to your client?EUR??,,????'???s needs and desires and keeping those two things in mind, when designing for a unique, functional fountain.

About the Firm

With over 150 collective years of design experience, the team at Nowell & Associates pride themselves on the success of their innovative and thoughtful fountain designs. Gregory Nowell, along with 17 members of his staff, including six licensed landscape architects provides designs for the public and private sectors all throughout the United States and Canada.