For this fountain in Centennial, Colo., Colorado Hardscapes handled almost every detail, including the concrete work, the piping and the mechanical system. Xypex waterproofing treatment was added to the cast-in-place concrete used to form the floor and walls of the basin. Four hundred linear feet of schedule 80 water lines were run. A custom brass water ring with 20 jet nozzles was installed around the outer bowl. Custom waterworks were created for the interior of the fountain. The lighting includes 55 niche-mounted lights with 15 underwater junction boxes, 19 freestanding lights with 10 junction boxes, a custom control panel and lighting controllers.

Colorado Hardscapes installed 68 linear feet of inner wall with weir edge cap and wall cladding down to the water level. In addition, 140 linear feet of precast wall cap was installed at the seatwall along with SkateStoppers Bronze fins. The Fountain People supplied the main mechanical system. Pro-Flo supplied the strainer.

That the Streets at SouthGlenn Commons, a shopping, dining, working and living district located in the Denver suburb of Centennial, Colo., wanted a fountain as a centerpiece in its park, was not unusual. That they relied on a landscape contracting firm to provide them with the turnkey water feature was. Then again, Colorado Hardscapes does specialize in decorative concrete so they were never in over their heads.

The Denver-based company even helped design the large concrete fountain bowls, the structural form that could support their weight, and the edge and pattern of the bowls that would produce the desired water-flow effect.

The fountain bowls were cast monolithically to prevent damage from freeze-thaw, chemicals and coins. The six-man crew poured the concrete to shape the floor and the walls of the basin, formed and placed the central bowls, waterproofed the four outer bowls, fabricated and installed the custom waterworks for the interior fountain, and ran the water lines. They also installed the lighting, inner walls and seatwalls.

The large fountain was the first of its kind to be cast-in-place utilizing glass fiber reinforced concrete products and methods to form a bowl, place the concrete, and finish it while in position over ten feet in the air. The top two bowls were set in place with the help of a rented crane.

With its ArcusStone crushed limestone coating bonded to concrete, the fountain duplicates the timeworn polished stone of ancient fountains but this one is built around state-of-the-art water treatment, lighting and hydraulics.