Gulf Construction Online - Fountains prove a focal point

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Crystal Fountains’ installation ... spectacular sight.

Fountains prove a focal point

Water features are playful interventions that add value to public spaces and shopping malls, says Crystal Fountains.

01 August 2009

WATER features have traditionally added value to public spaces, and experts in the sector have been exerting efforts to enhance their visual interactive appeal. One such expert which has been present in the region since the 1990s is Canada-based Crystal Fountains, which has installed its innovative water features at several malls across the region.
“Water features encourage shoppers to stay longer within a mall and bring in more revenue to retailers,” says Michael Denman, director of commercial projects at Crystal Fountains.
Water features in malls are particularly popular as they extend the length of the average shopping trip, generating repeat visits and increasing sales.
Stephen Vincent, landscape architect and project director at Crystal Fountains, says the water features also assist in finding the way within a mall, providing a landmark or gathering space for people.
At Dubai’s BurJuman Mall, for instance, the company installed 18 unique water features, 15 of them within the interior. The features have very small footprints and Crystal Fountains used materials such as sculpted marble, onyx, stainless steel and granite and a multitude of water feature effects – clear streams, water walls, cascades, lily ponds, water under glass, sequenced water effects, laminar streams and misting effects.
Designed to be playful interventions in public spaces, these water features are fun for participants and spectators, varying from basic splash parks for children’s play to more sophisticated water features with multiple uses.
Denman says the big challenge in installing water features outdoors is dealing with water loss due to evaporation. “On average, we lose about four-tenths of an inch per day across the total surface area of what can be large pools, so simply keeping them supplied is an issue. In some cases, we take advantage of the ready availability of seawater, but that solution brings on issues related to corrosion, which narrow our choices of components, plumbing and finishes while increasing concerns about maintenance – with all of these adjustments coming at a price.
“Desert winds are also a factor, raising concerns about fountain over-spray and forcing us to develop and deploy advanced control systems that lower fountain displays when the breezes pick up beyond tolerance levels to keep decks (and passersby) dry. And with the wind, of course, comes sand – an abrasive material that gets into everything, including equipment and components. The solution here involves use of large surge tanks that let sand settle out before water is recirculated.”
While many of today’s high-end commercial, residential and leisure projects feature interactive water features, these installations demand a “systems approach”, according to Crystal Fountains.
Using an animation panel creates a network, allowing water and light shows to be synchronised with incredible speed, an infinite range of colours and shapes and an almost “painterly” technique of colour washing.
So, how do these water features work?
Nozzles are placed in a deck surround (poured dry deck or suspended deck) and water drains through the deck surround into a holding tank. From there, the water is pumped to the nozzles, via a pumping station. Water quality has to be strictly monitored for public safety.
Controllers and sequencing devices enhance the interactive experience. Play elements can be turned on or off for fixed times and can be controlled by the sequencing programmer.
Crystal Fountains has been at the forefront of sequencing technology, starting with ChoreoSwitches and Laminars in the 1990s. In response to today’s demand for energy efficiency, the company has also been incorporating LED lighting technology into water features for years. The ChoreoSwitch incorporates a choice of sequencing nozzle and LED light combination that is flush-mounted for pedestrian-friendly interactive fountains (when operated at safe levels).
The ChoreoSwitch is a water level-independent sequencing nozzle that produces programmed effects at high switching speeds. Grouped together, multiple ChoreoSwitches can produce a wide variety of geometric patterns such as spirals, tilting plates, alpha-numeric characters and travelling waves.
Varying heights can be produced using a variable speed drive pump. The ChoreoSwitch is a low-maintenance device that can switch up to 10 times per second, producing no water hammer. Available in 12V DC or 24V DC with RGB LED lighting, the LED ChoreoSwitch has the advantage of low power requirements, thus saving energy, producing less heat (hence less water loss), long life, saving maintenance time and costs and dynamic programming.
Crystal Fountains’ current projects in the GCC include Masdar City headquarters, Central Market Development, and Abu Dhabi Golf Course Hotel in Abu Dhabi; The Avenues Mall in Kuwait; and Doha Parksite in Qatar.
Crystal Fountains is one of the world’s leading designers, consultants and manufacturers of water features. It comprises three divisions: a consulting division staffed by water feature consultants collaborating with architects, developers and contractors for projects; a products division that manufactures fountain products, lights, sequencing and traditional nozzles, drains and inlets, and electrical and accessories; and WaterCrystal, a division producing a line of pre-engineered products for the residential swimming pool market.
The company expanded into the Middle East during the early 1990s. While much of its work is executed for the private sector, the company is also doing a significant number of public sector beautification projects, notably in Abu Dhabi. The recent retail boom has also seen the company installing a number of water features in malls in Dubai as well as Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.