Architectural Fountain Design & Manufacturing
Tampa, FL
Two fountains, the Louver Fountain on the east and the Mist Fountain on the west, add interactive fun to the eight-acre Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park in downtown Tampa, which combines park areas, retail shops, and museums.
The two fountains presented difficult challenges early in the design phase. The plan changed from a decorative to interactive fountain in the case of the Louver Fountain. This added cost to meet stringent state health codes and yet satisfy the vision for the animation. The massive volume of pumped water required enormous water storage.
The Mist Fountain was designed as a cool-off station for joggers. To do this, the water had to be circulated, treated, and re-used in order to satisfy Tampa’s water-usage restrictions. Adequate lighting also had to be designed as flush-surface lighting to meet the architect’s design. The design was also heavily influenced by a strict budget.
Delta Fountains collaborated with the fountain team to refine the Louver Fountain design to meet the Florida Department of Health code. The team’s efforts made Curtis Hixon the first fountain with 100-percent UV sterilization in Florida. We linked three 8-feet by 10-feet subterranean collector tanks to hold a combined volume of just under 10,000 gallons which is the water equivalent of an average residential swimming pool.
We altered the nozzle spacing to maximize the volume of mist and custom fabricated 120 stainless steel sumps to meet water usage restrictions for the Mist Fountain and provide flush lighting. Each sump holds two mist nozzles and an LED light with acrylic cover that were flush with the deck.
