Lake Eola Fountain Renovation, Orlando

Design-Build Renovation by Freeport Fountains

A lightning strike in Aug. 2009 on the Lake Eola Fountain in Orlando rendered the 1957 iconic structure inoperable. The fountain was renovated and resumed operation on July 4, 2011. The current lighting retrofit is 200 RGB LED (12 VDC/30-watt) submersible fixtures fitted in and around a new sea-green Plexiglas dome.
Photos: Freeport Fountains

An Orlando, Fla. civic committee headed by Linton Allen, board chairman of the 1st National Bank, first put forth the idea of a significant fountain for the city. The Orlando Utilities Commission authorized construction of a fountain in Lake Eola in July 1956.

Landscape artist W. C. Pauley of Atlanta designed the fountain. Construction of the fountain involved driving 28 60-ft. long steel cylinders filled with concrete into the 24 ft. deep lake bottom. Horizontal reinforced concrete beams were placed on top of pilings to form the fountain?EUR??,,????'???s superstructure.

This required barging 320 tons of concrete. The fountain was completed in Aug. 1957 at a cost of $162,000. It was 60-ft. in diameter, with towers rising 18 feet above the lake. Three pumps (30 to 60 hp) drove 6,400 gpm of water into the air and over the fountain. The original fountain lighting used three miles of wiring, 64 underwater incandescent floodlights in red, blue and amber, which showed separate solid colors that gradually blended to reveal all the colors of the rainbow.

The lighting and control equipment on the fountain is synced to shore-side animation and DMX (digital multiplex) controllers to choreograph music, lights (16 million colors available) and fountains. The fountain has 2 hp, 3 hp and 20 hp centrifugal pumps, plus 7.5 hp, 15 hp and 25 hp vertical turbine pumps.

The fountain was originally called the Centennial Fountain, but in April of 1966 it officially became the Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, although people just call it the Lake Eola Fountain. The fountain, with its green flying saucer shape, became the unofficial symbol for the city, its likeness appearing on everything from street signs to city stationary.

While the world around the fountain changed dramatically, the fountain remained relatively unchanged until a 1988 lighting retrofit of ?EUR??,,????'??cutting edge?EUR??,,????'?? Strand dimmers and lighting controls, along with a new set of 1,000-watt quartz light fixtures.

Oldest
The fountain?EUR??,,????'???s 1957 lighting design used 64 underwater incandescent high-wattage incandescent PAR (parabolic aluminized reflector) floodlights in red, along with blue and amber, along with inefficient energy-absorbing colored glass lenses. Separate solid colors would gradually blend to reveal all the colors of the rainbow.

Lightning Strikes
Fast-forward 21 years to August 2009. As chance would have it, or perhaps it was inevitable, a lightning strike delivered a direct hit to the fountain?EUR??,,????'???s main pump and electrical controls, rendering it completely inoperable. The Plexiglas skin was cracked, mechanical and electrical systems were breaking down and many of the light fixtures were broken.

?EUR??,,????'??Parts of the fountain were literally held together with duct tape and bailing wire,?EUR??,,????'?? recalls Joel Wolcott, engineering principal of Sanford, Fla.-based Freeport Fountains. Inspired by a public outcry and Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer?EUR??,,????'???s resolve to revive the city?EUR??,,????'???s beloved centerpiece, the city selected Freeport Fountains (for its 30 years of engineering and constructing complex architectural fountains and water features) to design-build a complete renovation and restoration of the iconic fountain. Freeport Fountains teamed with the city?EUR??,,????'???s development staff to begin the design/construction work. As a 23-acre lake surrounded the fountain, demolition, reconstruction, materials and manpower transport was all via barges and boats.

Older
A lighting retrofit in 1988 replaced the incandescent PAR floodlights and inefficient, energy-absorbing colored glass lenses with1,000-watt quartz lights and Strand dimmers, then the state-of-the-art.

The city desired energy-efficiently lighting choreographed to water effects and tied into the park-wide audio system. In short, a stunning nighttime lightshow of water and music. Orlando wanted to be wowed. To sync the shore-side animation and DMX (digital multiplex) controllers, and the lighting and control equipment on the fountain, a fiberoptic communication cable was installed along the lake bottom. A strictly adhered to detailed management plan enabled the project to progress nicely and remain on budget despite a tight completion schedule.

New
Each of the 200 new RGB LED fixtures for the Lake Eola Fountain has six optically clear lenses circling inside the bronze housing, with 18 LEDs mounted to a smart PCB board. The lamp is 12-volt DC/3-watt. The convex cast-glass outer lens is tempered and heat resistant.
Image: Crystal Fountain

Lighting Design
Freeport specified more than 200 RGB submersible LED fixtures. The LEDs produce vivid color illumination at a fraction of the former wattage usage, significantly lowering the cost of operation.

The LEDs produce colors directly, with much more light per watt than the old fixtures (which lost much of their light to the colored glass lenses), and with greater color saturation. The LEDs should have 10-20 times greater life than the old incandescent lamps.

One of the most common maintenance tasks previously was replacing burned out lamps in difficult-to-access areas around and among the Plexiglas dome structure. The LEDs offer more control flexibility. With the incandescent system, lights were controlled in large groups. The DMX-controlled LEDs are discretely addressed, enabling each one to display any of 16 million colors. This allows a nearly unlimited capability for programming, sequencing show effects and choreographed presentations.

The incandescent fixtures had to be submerged during operation for cooling. The LEDs operate wet or dry without damage. The low voltage of the LEDs means greater safety, plus eliminates the needy for ground fault circuits.

An energy analysis of the new fountain systems reveals an energy consumption reduction of 62 percent, an annual estimated savings on electricity cost of more than $41,000!

The six cone jets in the upper pool are lit by RGB LEDs arranged in groups of three surrounding each jet. The spray ring in the upper pool is illuminated by 18 LEDs arranged in a circle just outside the spray ring. Fifty-six LEDs illuminate the 28 cone jets in the lower basins, arranged in pairs surrounding each jet.

Project Team

• Owner:
  City of Orlando ?EUR??,,????'??? Family, Parks and Recreation
  
• Fountain Design-Builder:
  Freeport Fountains, LLC ?EUR??,,????'??? Jon Vollet
  
• Engineer of Record:
  Freeport Fountains, LLC ?EUR??,,????'??? Joel Wolcott, PE
  
• Landscape Architect:
  HHI Design ?EUR??,,????'??? Rick Magley
  
• Electrical Engineer:
  Alers Engineering Group, LLC ?EUR??,,????'??? Nicholas Alers
  
• Environmental Engineer:
  Aerostar Environment Services - John Stump
  
• Structural Engineer:
  OM Engineering ?EUR??,,????'??? Nimesh Bahvsar
  
• Controls System Engineer:
  Matern Engineering ?EUR??,,????'??? Doug Matern Jr.
  
• City Consulting Engineer:
  Milan Engineering ?EUR??,,????'??? Mitesh Smart
  
• Show Controls and Choreography:
  MediaMation, ?EUR??,,????'??? Alison Jamele
  
• Waterproofing Contractor:
  Cornerstone Construction Services- Amadita Stone
  
• Demolition Contractor:
  Ferran Engineering Group ?EUR??,,????'??? David Hase
  
• Electrical Contractor:
  Comelco Electric ?EUR??,,????'??? Jesse Gonzalez
  
• Structural Dome Contractor:
  Spencer Fabrications ?EUR??,,????'??? Jay Persaud
  
• Fiberoptic Communications Contractor:
  ITDS - Chris Farrugia Reed

Manufacturers/Vendors

• American Marsh Pumps: Turbine Pumps
  
• Automation Logix
  - Custom Fountain and Motor Control Panels
  
• Berkeley Pumps: Centrifugal Pumps
  
• Crystal Fountains
  -LED052 Submersible Light Fixtures
  -EBJ Series Junction Boxes
  -NEF Series Plume Jet
  
• Media Mation
  -DMX Interface
  -ShowFlow Animation Controller