Crown Fountain

Fountain Chicago, US

Designed by JaumePlensa, the Crown Fountain employs several design elements including water, light, and glass to create a unique meeting point and reflection space. The surface area of the fountain floor is paved with matte, black granite to create a vast, dark and empty surface, covered by a 1/8th of an inch deep“water skin,” spread out across the whole lenght of the pool. This piece of art invites visitors to step on its surface and look at the images of the sky and city reflected back. The two 50-foot towers project video images from a broad social spectrum of Chicago citizens, citing the traditional use of gargoyles in fountains, where faces of mythological beasts were sculptured with open mouths to allow water, a symbol of life, to flow out.