News
Fixing Her Majesty’s fountains
Fixing Her Majesty’s fountains
It’s not every day that our maintenance team gets to work in a royal front garden! Here they are doing a spot of annual maintenance on the fountains at Hampton Court Palace.
These floating fountains were commissioned for The Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002. There are five in all – one for each decade of Her Majesty’s reign.
The fountains are floating pontoons tethered to huge concrete blocks on the base of the Long Water. Once positioned, the pontoons are winched down so that only the fountain nozzles are on show. Later this year, it’s back to the workshop for the fountains where they will be stripped down and fully refurbished.
‘Hollywood Special’ at Merchant Square
‘Hollywood Special’ at Merchant Square
Our Merchant Square water maze was the setting for a very special photoshoot. The car is a rare, 1949 Bristol 402. Only 22 have been made, and they gained the nickname ‘Hollywood Special’ when a pair of the early cars were ordered by film star, Stewart Granger and his actress wife, Jean Simmons.
The shot features in the 2016 Bristol Owner’s Club Calendar.
Lumiere London lights up King’s Cross
Lumiere London lights up King’s Cross
Over four nights in January, King’s Cross was transformed into an illuminated festival of light, music and art.
Here you can see Jacques Rival’s artwork, IFO reflected in the water cascades at Pancras Square. Over 190,000 people braved the cold and came to King’s Cross to see the show over the Lumiere weekend!
Image courtesy of John Sturrock.
’tis the season…
’tis the season…
It’s looking very festive at King’s Cross this Christmas season.
Granary Square is all lit up. The tree is called “Let it Snow” and is made from 365 wooden sledges. It’s a taster for Lumiere London, which will light up the Capital this January. The fountains provide the beautifully-lit backdrop.
Mock it up
Mock it up
Mock-ups are where our concepts come to life. It’s how we test new ideas and materials, hone performance and try out new technology.
The parallelogram-shaped pool tested here is just a small part of a feature that will include 6 pools, each measuring some 10m long.
Hidden jets produce disturbances in the water surface – creating ripples of increasing intensity. We also worked with a sequencing programme to enable the jets to dance through a choreographed display. Enjoy!
David gets wet for Wired
David gets wet for Wired
Back on a chilly evening in May, David braved the cold and stood in the fountains at Granary Square for a full two hours while photographer Jay Brooks snapped away.
The result was this cracking shot for an article in the September issue of Wired Magazine. The article focuses on our app, Granary Squirt, which lets people control the fountains at King’s Cross with their smartphones.
Click below to see the Wired article in full.
read more >>Strawberries and Screen at Lewis Cubitt Square
Strawberries and Screen at Lewis Cubitt Square
It’s Wimbledon season and the big screen is back at King’s Cross! This time at the newly opened Lewis Cubitt Square.
If you don’t fancy queuing for Murray Mound, then this is a great spot to catch the tennis.
Get there early if you want a deck chair, otherwise you can watch the action through the fountains from the benches along Stable Street.
Ben Hampshire appointed Director
Ben Hampshire appointed Director
We’re proud to announce that Ben Hampshire is now a Director of The Fountain Workshop. This is an achievement that is richly deserved!
Ben was our first employee back in 1996, and he has been instrumental in helping us reach where we are today. Ben’s promotion to Project Director marks a progressive new phase for our company and we feel certain it will have a positive effect on all of us as we move forward. Congratulations Ben!
Easter fun at Lewis Cubitt Square
Easter fun at Lewis Cubitt Square
Lewis Cubitt Square is the latest civic space to open at King’s Cross! Here some kids are enjoying the water jets in the Easter sunshine.
The square’s open design and clean lines are the work of celebrated designer Laurie Olin, who also designed Bryant Park in New York. We were flattered and excited to be asked to work in collaboration with The Olin Studio on the square.
Laurie’s concept for the water feature was to use it to draw people in to this fabulous new space and that it does!
read moreStockton High Street opens
Stockton High Street opens
Our fountain project at Stockton High Street opens tomorrow! Ahead of the festivities, we’re posting this photo which captures today’s solar eclipse. (Thank you to Graham Brown of Chapman Brown Photography for the image!)
There’s a whole programme of events including street theatre and dance and Ian Kirkpatrick, Paul Stafford, Ian Horn and Mel Chantrey will be on hand to make sure everything runs smoothly.
See the photos and video footage of the event here.