Contemporary Garden Decor: Garden Fountains and their Beginnings

Contemporary Garden Decor: Garden Fountains Beginnings 296527195487755868.jpg

A water fountain is an architectural piece that pours water into a basin or jets it high into the air in order to supply drinking water, as well as for decorative purposes.

From the beginning, outdoor fountains were soley there to serve as functional elements. Water fountains were linked to a spring or aqueduct to supply potable water as well as bathing water for cities, townships and villages. Up until the 19th century, fountains had to be higher and closer to a water source, such as aqueducts and reservoirs, in order to take advantage of gravity which fed the fountains. Designers thought of fountains as amazing additions to a living space, however, the fountains also served to supply clean water and celebrate the artist responsible for building it. Bronze or stone masks of animals and heroes were frequently seen on Roman fountains. During the Middle Ages, Muslim and Moorish garden planners incorporated fountains to create mini variations of the gardens of paradise. King Louis XIV of France wanted to demonstrate his dominion over nature by including fountains in the Gardens of Versailles. To mark the entrance of the restored Roman aqueducts, the Popes of the 17th and 18th centuries commissioned the construction of baroque style fountains in the spot where the aqueducts entered the city of Rome

Since indoor plumbing became the standard of the day for clean, drinking water, by the end of the 19th century urban fountains were no longer needed for this purpose and they became purely decorative. Fountains using mechanical pumps instead of gravity enabled fountains to deliver recycled water into living spaces as well as create unique water effects.

Embellishing city parks, honoring people or events and entertaining, are some of the uses of modern-day fountains.

How Mechanical Designs of Water Fountains Spread

How Mechanical Designs of Water Fountains Spread Spreading pragmatic hydraulic facts and water feature design ideas all through Europe was accomplished with the printed papers and illustrated books of the time. In the later part of the 1500's, a French fountain developer (whose name has been lost) was the globally recognized hydraulics leader. With Royal commissions in Brussels, London and Germany, he started his work in Italy, acquiring know-how in garden design and grottoes with integrated and ingenious water hydraulics. “The Principles of Moving Forces”, a guide that turned into the fundamental book on hydraulic technology and engineering, was authored by him towards the end of his lifetime in France. The publication modified important hydraulic breakthroughs since classical antiquity as well as describing modern hydraulic technologies. Archimedes, the inventor of the water screw, had his work showcased and these integrated a mechanized means to move water. Natural light heated the liquid in a pair of undetectable containers adjacent to the beautiful fountain were shown in an illustration. What occurs is the hot water expanded, rises and locks up the conduits leading to the fountain, thereby leading to stimulation. The publication additionally covers garden ponds, water wheels, water feature creations.