[Summit] Fountains

[Amanda Woodward]

I have seen similar fountains set up (the one on the MIT campus is terrific - same idea plus boulders to sit and climb on - dreamy for the little ones).

I can't imagine that it is all that hard to convert the Lippit fountain to a water conservative system.  
Please keep us posted on the response to your requested approach (crazy you, wanting to get the facts first then make a decision!).



----- Original Message ----
From: Jonathan Howard <jon at ceffect.com>
Cc: ","Summit at sna.providence.ri.us"" <Summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2008 11:59:17 AM
Subject: Re: [Summit] Fountains

As I've heard it, the rationale is about cost and technical feasibility. Evidently the mechanism is damaged so there would be a cost of restoration. The Director of Parks Alix Ogden also once told me that our fountain does not recirculate water, so there would be a high cost of the water itself, not to mention the water waste.However, I can't imagine that recirculating the water is that difficult a feat.

The bottom line is we just don't know much. What's wrong with the fountain if anything? What would it cost to fix? What other options might the community prefer? What happens to the fountain if we fill it with dirt? What conditions, if any, were attached to the gift of the fountain?

The action item from last fall's charrette just says: "Develop a proposal for a planter in the Lippit Park Fountain, to be reviewed and approved by the Parks [Department]."  Like a lot of plans, it jumps to the solution before it defines the problem or the goal. 

I have just asked the Dept. of Planning what it would take to revise this item to "Conduct a feasibility and cost study of restoration or re-design of the Lippitt Park Fountain."

In a neighborhood with little kids, I think an ideal water feature should be a play space for under fives. One great example is the water feature in Millenium Park in Chicago - there's a lot more to it, but the basic design is just a large open paved area slightly pitched to a drain down the center. Water flows down two structures at either end to create a massive puddle less than an inch deep. Kids love this. There's also a much more dramatic element - a giant video of faces that spits out water, but most of the time it's just a wet space. Everyone likes to get their feet wet.

Jon

Amanda Woodward wrote: 
John
What is the rationale behind not turning on the fountain?
Amanda


----- Original Message ----
From: John Bazik <jsb at cs.brown.edu>
To: Jonathan Howard <jon at ceffect.com>
Cc: "Summit at sna.providence.ri.us" <Summit at sna.providence.ri.us>
Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2008 9:28:06 PM
Subject: Re: [Summit] Signs and fountains

On Wed, Jan 02, 2008 at 05:03:37PM -0500, Jonathan Howard wrote:
> One critical issue looms. The goal of filling the fountain with dirt and 
> making it into a planter got incorporated into the draft   neighborhood 
> "plan" (more of a list, really) coming out of the neighborhood charette 
> held in September. I wasn't at that session, so I don't know how that 
> happened, but the Parks Dept. has long claimed that restoring the 
> fountain is either impossible or impossibly expensive. I imagine they 
> see this as a cheap way to resolve the problem of a waterless fountain. 
> The plan is still a "draft" so we can lobby the Director of the Parks 
> Dept, Alix Ogden. I'll also ask the Dept. of Planning to ensure that 
> alternatives to the planter idea are offered. We may have this on the 
> agenda for our Jan. 21 meeting and will let you know.

I was there.  I believe I said that restoring the fountain to working
order was preferred by the neighborhood, but that plantings are preferable
to nothing.  I've been told repeatedly, and in no uncertain terms, that
the fountain will not be turned on again.  If I remember, the notion of
having plantings hinges on neighborhood participation to maintain them,
so it won't happen without our input.

However, I'll happily support an effort to get the water flowing again.

John

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-- 
Jonathan W. Howard
Cause & Effect, Inc.
Helping nonprofits create community change
178 Ninth Street, Providence, RI 02906
401.331.2272
jon at ceffect.com
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