|
|
Article: Turbulence and tranquility: Tim Richardson reviews the new fountain in Kensington Gardens designed by Gustafson-Porter in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It is a subtle and sensitive example of the current interest in water gardens by leading landscape designers working in a Modernist idiom.
- Article from:
- Apollo
- Article date:
- August 1, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Apollo Magazine Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
According to dictionary definitions and everyday usage, a fountain is a jet of water that spurts up into the air. The new Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Kensington Gardens, London, does no such thing, however: it is a necklace cascade of flowing and bubbling water on a gentle, grassy slope overlooking the Serpentine.
But it is not quite a cascade, either, since the narrowness of the granite channel gives it something of the character of a formal rill. And the diverse quality of the water as it tumbles over 'rocks' or speeds along unimpeded is reminiscent of a natural stream. These difficulties of definition are not a problem on the ground, ...