In the middle of Chicago's 101 square meter Millennium Park, there are many iconic facilities that attract visitors. For some of them, tourists come from all over the world. Others are a favorite place to unwind for the residents of the huge metropolis themselves.
Such a unique creation of its kind is the "Crown" fountain. A BGNES team in Chicago was able to touch this interactive sculptural wonder.
If you want to feel like Christ walking on water - this is your place. The entire space around it is no more than 5 cm deep, but it feels as if you are walking on water. During the summer months, this is a favorite spot for the little ones – they run around in the black granite pool, splashing and jumping mischievously, just meters away from their parents sitting on the nearby benches.
The fountain itself is a futuristic invention. The work is by the Spanish sculptor Jaime Plensa. It consists of two glass 15-meter square towers located opposite each other - at either end of a shallow reflecting pool. An extravaganza of light emitted by special diodes (LED) and water flowing down the towers captivates with the images that appear on them. They are completely real. Underneath the glass are plasma screens that project the faces of 1,000 randomly selected Chicagoans who seem to emerge from beneath the flowing water. The jets of the whimsical fountain flow out through the half-opened lips of the depicted people. About 75 ethnic, social, and religious organizations in Chicago submitted candidates (people from local schools, churches, and community groups) whose faces were photographed to depict the fountain towers. Each face appears on the sculpture for 5 minutes, using different parts of separate 80-second videos. In a 30-second video, water appears to pour from the open mouth, and after the water has completely drained, a smile appears for up to 15 seconds.
Plensa, who completed his fountain in 2004, says he aimed for "the flow of the water to resemble a mountain stream in the center of a multi-million city."
The fountain uses 50,000 liters of water per hour. 97% of the water used is returned to the system and reused. Over one million LEDs were used. On the inner surface of each tower are 147 smaller screens with a total of 264,480 LED pixels.
The Crown Fountain cost $17 million to build and design. The Crown family, after whom the fountain is named, donated ten million dollars to the construction and design. Its water features operate from May to October, while the images remain on display year-round. The park is open to visitors every day from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
The technical characteristics of the fountain are highly appreciated in the industry and have been awarded with various awards.
For years now, the Crown Fountain has been part of Chicago's pop culture and an extremely popular subject for photographers. It is also one of the most preferred meeting places. As well as beckoning with its coolness in the hot summers, it seems to invite you to throw off your shoes and jump in its maddening spray, becoming a child again. /BGNES
