Planter Fountain Final Report 1: What

1 month ago

Post 11 - 2025 : Final Report Part 1

For my project I decided to make a planter with a fountain combined in it. My initial inspiration came from the fountains seen in some yards here in Boulder. I always enjoyed the dynamic element that these pieces can bring to a yard, which inspired me to create my own. My goal was to put my own spin on these features, while keeping it portable enough that it could operate indoors or outdoors. I began by formulating a design of this project in a naturalistic style, hoping to mimic the Colorado wilderness through a small creek bed. Some concerns I had with this design was the possible weight, and the room for creativity. I felt that if I wanted this design to stand out, I should switch aesthetics. While exploring opposite aesthetics to the natural aesthetic, I began brainstorming how this artifact may look in the industrial aesthetic. I landed upon a design where the fountain looked like condensation leaking from a pipe, with the plants growing from cracks in the concrete. I felt that this design would allow for more creativity, and be more eye catching.

Inspirations

As stated before, my initial inspiration came from the garden fountains I have seen around town. Some other inspiration I took before beginning this project was from an artifact from Reseda Discount Pottery and Fountains. I found this design online while researching planter fountain combos. While I liked the look and feel of this design, I wanted mine to seem less separated, with the fountain and plants being housed in a single footprint. While exploring alternative aesthetics, I came upon the Nine Floating Fountains by Isamu Noguchi. I found this piece interesting as I began to think of ways to disguise the fountain aspect in a way that would draw attention away from the actual fountain part, and more towards the art surrounding it. While thinking of ways to incorporate a similar design into mine, I decided that maybe turning the fountain into a part of the industrial aesthetic could be interesting. This led me to my final design. While I didn’t find any real inspiration for how to complete this project in the industrial aesthetic directly, I did draw some inspiration from the movie WALL-E. I found the image of the singular plant growing in the dump from this movie very compelling, so I tried to take this feeling into account during my design process.

Reseda Discount Pottery and Fountains design I drew some initial inspiration on how to combine these features from.

The Nine Floating Fountains in Osaka, Japan by Isamu Noguchi, from which I took inspiration for my design through the lens of a futuristic aesthetic on how to incorporate the fountain into my aesthetic.

Vision

The vision for the form of my project is to have an artifact that looks good as both only a fountain and planter, as well as tying in together. I also want this artifact to convey my desired aesthetic to anyone who sees it. Additionally, I would like this artifact to invoke some thought in a spectator, rather than just looking nice. For the function of this project my specifications are to have a working fountain, space for a variety of plants, a small and transportable design, and finally to have to interact with it minimally to keep it running.

Specs

As a bare minimum I would like this design to function as both a fountain and a planter
Next, I would like this design to be low maintenance, if possible bottom watering the plants to reduce interaction needed.
The final design should be small and light enough to be easily portable by one person. Allowing for moving indoors in the winter, and outdoors in the spring.
The design should invoke the feeling of the industrial aesthetic at a glance.

Constraints

My main constraint is the footprint of this project, and making sure it stays compact enough to meet my specification of being portable.
Another constraint lies in the materials, I hadn’t worked with plaster and had some trouble achieving the results I desired.
My final constraint was balancing the bottom watering aspect without over watering or washing out the soil of the plant, which would lead to more maintenence.

Initial Sketches and Final Design Plans

describe initial sketches and final plans, include how aesthetic embodied

For my initial design I sketched a simple outline of an almost rocky tombstone looking design. My idea was to have the fountain piped up inside of a rock feature and fall down creating a waterfall effect. This water would then follow a path lined with rocks similar to a rocky creek bed, with dirt of the outside of said creek to plant different native Colorado wildflowers. I was ok with this design, however as stated earlier I feared that the weight would become to massive and the design too fragile to permit movement of the artifact.

While exploring alternative aesthetics I decided to pursue the industrial aesthetic. I formulated a design were the base would look like a sidewalk, with flowers growing out of the cracks. Then the fountain would be housed in an air duct, to simulate the grungy feel of sidewalks in an industrial setting.

I finally decided to stick with this design, however with some changes. I pivoted from both the sidewalk look and air duct housing. I felt that the airduct and sidewalk didn’t tie in as well as I would have hoped. This led me to just attempting to mimic and concrete/asphalt, with the fountain being housed in PVC pipes. I felt that this tied in a bit better than what I had before. I feel that this design embodies the industrial aesthetic as the plaster simulates that raw material look, especially concrete, that is so prevalent in industrial aesthetic designs. I also felt that the PVC fountain lent itself to this notion as it mimics the PVC piping often leaving industrial spaces that on cold nights, drips water due to condensation. I chose to use more weed-like plants for this design as it felt more natural seeing a dandelion in this design than some well kept flower that would never grow in this setting. I think these aspects all tie in together well to simulate this industrial aesthetic.

Final(ish) Design

At first I had plaster the outside of the box planter as well and painted it. However, due to poor mixing ratios, when I accidently knocked into my design, all the plaster came loose from the sides. While that was definitely an annoyance, I feel confident I can overcome this set back for Expo. Overall though, I am happy with the functionality and aesthetic of the remaining portion. The fountain works perfectly and cycles the water through the pump which doubles as a filter. I also think the flower growing out of the cracks looks good, however I may still pronounce the cracks further. The water flows from the fountain into the hole in front, which I may try and disguise for future revisions. I also plan on adding some rocks and possibly foliage to elevate the design of this artifact.

Initial sketch of design in the natural aesthetic.

Initial design of this artifact in the industrial aesthetic with the plaster concrete and air duct covered fountain.

Final design sketch with the window box planter, PVC covered fountain, and weed-like flowers growing from concrete cracks.

Final design after the outer plaster fell off, you can still see the idea I am going for though.

References

“M-Series Rustic Spa Fountain with Planter: Small Indoor Water Fountains, Indoor Water Fountains, DIY Water Fountain.” Pinterest, 25 Nov. 2014, www.pinterest.com/pin/457748749600871512/.

“5 Most Beautiful Fountains in the World.” Hammond International Properties, www.hammondinternationalproperties.com/lifestyle/5-most-beautiful-fountains-in-the-world. Accessed 7 Mar. 2025.