Start Date
01/01/2014
End Date
12/31/2014
Description
With today’s increased emphasis on conservation and stewardship, water feature design must reflect these realities along with the intended aesthetic. From a perspective of sustainability and resource management, this session will provide the knowledge necessary to make informed water feature design choices at the conceptual stage for any specific climate or region. Often the conceptualization of a new water feature does not include a thorough consideration of the manner in which the envisioned display uses energy and water resources on an ongoing basis.
Water effects such as jet and waterwall types, naturalistic “green” displays and scrims will be compared from an artistic perspective, but viewed through the lens of how these aesthetics and their associated feature types relate to energy and water consumption, chemical use and discharge, light pollution, human health, and construction budgets. Simple rules and conceptual tools will be presented which can then inform design choices. We will thereby provide strategies for constructing water features which maintain aesthetic integrity, while at the same time being stingier resource consumers. Specific examples of water jet and weir types, flow surfaces, equipment choices, and so forth will be provided to further elucidate these principles.
Theoretical discussions regarding emerging technologies, coupled with relevant case studies, will also provide an understanding of design options for “greener” fountains. Emphasis will be placed on how and why various water feature designs relate to gaining credits within The Sustainable Sites Initiative (SITE) and other rating systems.
Location
Philadelphia, PA
Distance Learning
No
Course Equivalency
No
Subjects
Water / Stormwater Management
Health, Safety and Welfare
Yes
Hours
1.0
Learning Outcomes
1. Understand the shift in water feature design from ostentation to the recognition of water as a finite resource through the examination of standard water effects and their historical contexts.
2. Learn why and how various water effects score differentially in terms of energy use, water consumption, chemical usage, waste discharge, human health, (SITE) credits and construction costs.
3. Gain the basic technical strategies necessary to make informed choices when evaluating water feature design strategies.
Instructors
Nadine Nemec, ASLA, Principal
Course Codes
Provider
CMS Collaborative, Inc.