New Drinking Features for Royal Parks

SallyB2
By SallyB2 Last edited 160 months ago
New Drinking Features for Royal Parks

fountain.lon.jpg No - we're not talking champagne tents for stray Charlies, or special brew benches for street drinkers. This is, rather, concerning a long overdue update for the humble water fountain. Although humble may not be the best word: many of the original horse troughs and people fountains were rather elaborate affairs, garnished with griffins and betopped with gleaming marble knobs.

But in recent years many Victorian drinking founts have 'fallen into disrepair' (euphemism in this case for being covered in graffiti and then used as a urinal). So the Royal Parks got together with Tiffany and ran a competition for some new designs, the results of which have just been announced. Standards must've been high, as they ended up selecting two winners: Ben Addy, of Moxon, with a minimalist trumpet affair, and the funky-but-primeval Watering Holes, by Robin Monotti Architects with Mark Titman.

Both of them retain a degree of tradition in as much as they can accommodate thirsty animals as well as parched humans. Coming to a (Royal) park near you some time next year.

Old school fountain, by LondonDave.

Last Updated 09 November 2010