Modern Water Fountains

Modern architecture and landscaping rely heavily on geometry to convey abstract ideas. The intention is to create a world of thought by combining and morphing basic designs in new patterns that are clearly human in origin. Water fountains in these landscapes must support this intention with a clear departure from their traditionally ornamental appearance. Modern water fountains tend to feature either an emphasis on circular forms or sharp angles that support the eclectic elements of modern home design and suggest an altered reality based purely in the mind of man.

The most important thing to realize about modern water fountains is their absolute importance to contemporary landscaping. They are never used as secondary elements in such a setting. Instead, these fountains are central features to any modern landscape design. They are typically built in front yards to introduce the geometric themes of home architecture. In back yards, they are frequently constructed as central elements of custom patios, being built directly into the concrete, limestone, or stonework itself. Modern landscapers tend to avoid building these fountains too close to vegetation, and deliberately integrate them either directly into hardscapes, or construct them adjacent to hardscapes. Sometimes they are also built on the sides of walls in the framing area between the patio and the garden, although the structure and water itself even in these settings is separate from the organic elements of the design.

It may seem strange to many people that modern landscapers would deliberately avoid separating water from vegetation and instead make it a central feature of hardscape design. In order to understand why this is done, we have to pause for a moment and think about the very nature of modern design. Unlike other forms of design which rely heavily on materials and patterns taken directly from nature, modern landscaping intentionally seeks to depart from nature’s boundaries by establishing forms and patterns that are quite often stark, abstract, or downright shocking to the eye. This is done to emphasize the complexities of human thought processes and the often jumbled emotional states that lie buried within the subconscious mind beneath the surface levels of thought. Water has always been a symbol for spirituality or unconscious emotion, so it makes both practical and aesthetic sense to integrate its presence into a design style whose purpose is an exploration of consciousness itself.

Building these fountains separate and apart from gardens and vegetation further helps to promote the ideal of individuation. What was once a free-flowing and universal symbol that existed without boundaries now appears contained and limited in man-made geometric forms and structures of concrete and glass. Not only is this theme reinforced by the position of the fountain, but also by the material from which it is built. Modern landscapers normally select a material whose texture are exceptionally smooth and deviates from the traditional appearance of stone. Most water fountains designed in this style will consequently look shiny, translucent, or dull, depending on what most appropriately compliments surrounding elements. Lighting is a key element, both within a modern water fountain and around its exterior form. This allows it to be seen at any time, day or night, and further punctuates its significance after sunset, when it is often the most visible element on the property other than the home itself.