Entertainment value: with their interactive appeal and space-saving design, curbless, dry-deck fountains offer both entertainment and value in one package

Pool & Spa News, July 26, 2002 by Jon Mitovich

Over time, architectural construction styles and techniques have evolved. Ornate structures have given way to clean, functional lines.

The same is true with decorative fountain basins, which have metamorphosed from ancient wellspring pools to intricately carved stone sculptures, to monolithic block, walled and stepped forms.

The latest fountain development has nothing to do with the basin's form. but rather, the lack of it: curbless dry-deck varieties.

These fountains have hit the commercial scene with a vengeance and are beginning to find their way into high-end backyards as well. A curbless dry-deck fountain almost seems basinless--it has no barrier (or curb) separating it from its surroundings. The vessel or tank holding the water sits below grade and is typically covered with a paving material that is flush with the surrounding grate. The equipment that generally would be exposed on a traditional fountain is also underground and out of sight.

With open space at a premium and the public being invited to interact and participate more and more in the architectural landscape, dry-deck fountains are the perfect medium for our time. Designing them requires adherence to a few simple guidelines.

Past, present and future

While the movement toward dry-deck fountains is relatively new, the concept isn't. We know of one dry-deck design that was used almost 400 years ago.

In the early 1600s, a designer named Santino Solari created a similar fountain at the Salzburg, Austria, country retreat of the Prince Archbishop Marcus Sitticus yon Hohenems (shown on page 49). The beautiful Romanesque-type garden with a large, carved stone table and benches comprised the archbishop's dining area. The designer surrounded the archbishop's dining table with spray nozzles located under the floor. It was considered extremely rude to stand up in the presence of the archbishop if he wasn't standing himself. So when he had guests over, the archbishop would get a kick out of sitting them down and activating the fountain to see if the people would stand up out of their seats or choose to get wet instead. Even then, people saw how these fountains could liven up a party.

The motivation for using curbless dry-deck fountains today is a bit less devious. A lot of it just has to do with the progress of architecture in general: It's the 21st century, and people are looking for cleaner lines. These fountains create cleaner sight lines because they don't break up the landscape as traditional fountains do--you don't have a large, ornate concrete structure interfering with the site.

Instead, it's a nice, smooth, clean surface treatment that blends better with the surrounding area. This form conceals the fountain apparatus, which can be quite an eyesore. Traditional fountains, as ornate as they are, are designed to be running all the time. When they're not running, the site can be a little less than attractive because you end up with the fountain structure without the kinetics of running water.

The way we live and use space has also contributed to this trend. We have gone from a society that sits back and views things and enjoys them from a distance to a public who wants to participate more in the open spaces. Without the curb, dry-deck fountains invite the pedestrian to come right into the space and interact with it.

Where the bucks are

On the commercial end, the beauty and appeal of dry-deck fountains lie in their utilitarian versatility: Architectural fountains by day can become multiuse spaces at night. With the curb removed and the equipment concealed, the fountain itself is basically out of sight and out of mind when it's not running, so the space can perform any number of functions.

We've seen applications where the fountain runs during the day, and at night there's a band or orchestra set up on that space. Other clients turn these fountains off in the winter and put a big Christmas tree in the space. I've even seen applications where those spaces, if built properly, actually could be driven over to access another part of the property that might otherwise be impossible to reach.

In a time when space is at a premium, the appeal of a multifunctional structure is becoming the rule rather than the exception.

These fountains also pose less of a liability risk than their traditional counterparts. There is no basin to act as a tripping hazard or interfere with requirements from the Americans with Disabilities Act. And with less in view, there's less chance of vandalism or theft.

For the most part, dry-deck fountains appear in commercial settings such as private office buildings, shopping centers and, of course, amusement parks. But there is also some movement toward including them in higher-end residences. We get more and more calls from pool builders asking about residential applications. Just about any space can be turned into a dry-deck curbless type fountain--it could be something that's 3 feet in diameter or 30 feet.

The fountain industry is beginning to address residential interest and to make this type of application user-friendly and installer-friendly, as well as affordable.