Garden drinking fountain
A classic Italian drinking fountain adapted to the Russian climate.
Brief
Create a classic Italian drinking fountain, like the ones in Rome, Milan and Florence, that withstands the Russian climate and comes apart for easy maintenance and shipping.
Design research
We gathered material from exhibitions, from catalogs of Italian, German and Turkish manufacturers, and from historical and modern photos. We grouped the fountain types and studied demand, prices and finish options.
Styling and layout
We split the fountain into sections with production, shipping, storage and weight in mind, so a client can move it without special equipment. We worked out the water supply and drainage connections while keeping the classic form.
Engineering
We built a CAD model of the sectional fountain with detailed fastening. For the main column we ran a casting simulation to avoid defects. We designed the CNC tooling and prepared documentation and installation diagrams.
Supervision
We found a cast iron foundry and supported the prototype production. The complex split mould caused shifts, so we refined the model and tooling. The client accepted the delay of the first batch: in quality and appearance the fountain outperformed competitors.