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Drawn Water - Cambridge Water Treatment Plant
Permanent Installation |
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| Fountain Detail |
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| Location: |
Cambridge, MA 1997-2002 |
| Client: | Cambridge Water Department and Cambridge Arts Council |
| Size: | Terrazzo 36' x 70', Water column 14' high, site component 16' x 50' |
| Materials: | Water, bronze, brass, terrazzo, acrylic, light |
| Budget: | $174,000 + $85,000 artists' work on terrazzo |
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| Drawn Water, a permanent sculptural installation inside and outside the new Water Department building, was finally completed spring, 2002.
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Walkers on Path |
Drinking Fountain at Path |
Model of Path & Drinking Fountain |
| Its predecessor, Acoustic Weir, proposed for the water source into Fresh Pond, fell victim to opposition by neighbors who wouldn't tolerate any art in that part of the reservation. Drawn Water is a multi-faceted piece combining real water, symbolic elements and mapping of the system. It jumps many scales and connects the tactile experience of drinking water to the conceptual structures of the water system. |
Water Column and Window |
The piece consists of:
- A sculptural drinking fountain set off by landscape elements along the main path around the pond which is heavily used for walking, jogging and bicycling
- Partially revealed sections of a 42 inch bronze pipe conecting the drinking fountain to the building and a special fence window to the reservoir along an axis perpendicular to the path
- The transparent Water Column, set inside the building, on axis with the pipe, behind an arched window, which reacts with lighting, bubbles and change in level to anyone drinking from the fountain
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Floor and Water Column | 
Exploring the Floor |
Terazzo Floor Detail |
- A terrazzo map of the water system in Cambridge forming the whole lobby floor, where the Water Column corresponds with Payson Park, the gravity feeding holding reservoir, the pipes are marked with different width brass strip and fountains and swimming pools have special places on the map
- Actual size pipe sections forming seats in the Lobby and keys to the map
- 13 manhole cover plaques, one in each cambridge neighborhood, indicated on the Lobby Map to encourage a treasure hunt in the neighborhoods
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Manhole Cover Plaque Designs
| Installed Plaque
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Construction Details
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Laying the terrazzo strip |
After grinding the terrazzo floor and pipe seats - to be polished |
Finishing the terrazzo details |
Valve Cover out in the City |
All Photos by |
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