The design agency NEON inaugurated The Fountaina new 4.3 meter high sculptural fountain. It was installed in the heart of Neighbourhood Square a Brent Cross Town, a London. The work reinterprets the tradition of European civic fountainsoffering a place of calm, curiosity and playful interaction within this rapidly expanding neighborhood.
Concept and inspiration: a contemporary pause point
The Fountain is inspired by tradition consolidated of fountains present in European city squares. Civic structures that simultaneously serve as landmarks, play spaces, and sources of calm through the sound and movement of water. NEON reinterprets these qualities in a contemporary language. The goal is to create a moment of pause, curiosity and well-being in this emerging neighborhood.
NEON set out to design a fountain that conveyed a familiar atmosphere but visually distinctive. The team introduced a delicate asymmetrystaggering the overlapping slabs in plan. This allows the sculpture to appear different from every point of view and create varied waterfalls, enriching both the acoustic qualities and the visual movement of the falling water.
The selection of materials was guided by performance and longevity criteria. HI-MACS® was chosen for its durability, color stability and ability to create the geometries exact requirements for overlapping plates and fins. Its long life and resistance to atmospheric agents minimize future maintenance. There palettechromatic choice, green for the vertical elements, recalls the surrounding landscape. Turquoise for groundwater, ago reference to the colors often associated with water and integrates the sculpture perfectly into its context.
Experience and public space: between contemplation and play
The Fountainstimulates curiosity and a wide range of informal interactions. For residents and visitors, the constant sound and movement offers a delicate background to daily lifemaking the square more welcoming to sit, chat or simply walk around. Fundamental is the fact that children often interact directly with waterfalls and shallow pool at the base, infusing a sense of play and energy into the space.
We wanted to create a work that could alternate between a contemplative and playful atmosphere, depending on how people choose to interact with itsays NEON’s Mark Nixon. The Fountain offers moments of calm through its sound and movement, but also invites light-hearted interaction, especially from children. This duality seemed important to us for a public space like this.
Il project launch, The Fountain was characterized by a powerful community engagement initiative. In collaboration with photographer Cesare De Giglio, NEON, Related Argent and Barnet Council they invited local residents, workers and visitors to participate in a series of portraits. Participants were asked to share a personal desire for the future – a modern echo of the tradition of making a wish at a fountain – which was then displayed in an exhibition. This initiative promoted a strong sense of local ownership by integrating community stories into public artwork.
Brent Cross Town it’s a new residential complex of 180 acres (about 75 hectares) created by Related Argentin partnership with Barnet Council. One of the largest urban redevelopment projects in Europethis new state-of-the-art mixed-use city will offer up to 6,700 new homes, with a mix of affordable, for rent and for sale homes. A new high street, new parks, squares, sports and leisure facilities will be created, with new buildings for three local schools, as well as 270,000 square meters of office space, all focused on the core values of physical and social connectivity, environmental sustainability, health and wellbeing.
NEON
NEON it is one artistic studio based in United Kingdom which explores the territory between art, architecture and design. Led by architect Mark Nixon and visual artist Viliina Koivisto, the studio creates projects that aim to enrich the experience daily through sensory, spatial and environmental awareness. NEON develops responses to unique sites around the world, extracting their unique qualities. As a result, the studio’s work varies in method and appearance, but always focuses on creating meaningful experiences for audiences.
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