Installing statement water features: The Qubein Arena Panther Fountain project

by arslan_ahmed | November 6, 2023 4:00 pm

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By Bryan Had

The Qubein Arena Panther Fountain project at High Point University was a remarkable endeavor undertaken by Fountain People. The exterior circular tiered fountain features a 6-m (20-ft) bronze sculpture of a panther. The fountain boasts cascading water from upper to lower basins, with carefully selected light-emitting diode (LED) lights illuminating the spectacle.

Project overview

The Qubein Arena Panther Fountain is an exterior circular tiered fountain located in front of the Qubein Arena and Conference Center at High Point University in North Carolina. The project was part of a larger $170 million development that includes the arena, conference centre, and hotel. The university sought to create an inspiring and engaging artwork that resonates with fans, students, and visitors, while aligning with the university’s values.

The design and creation of the Panther Fountain were led by Brian Keith, an artist specializing in fine art sculptures. Brian Keith Fine Art collaborated closely with the client to ensure that the design met their requirements and preferences. LKC Engineering, represented by Robert Hayter and Lou Sadler, provided engineering expertise and worked on the detailed design aspects of the project, including two additional fountains that flank the larger panther fountain.

The fountain’s construction, architectural finishes, management, and mounting of the sculpture, was the responsibility of the general contractor, Smith & Jennings, Inc. Smith & Jennings is a full-service grading company founded in 1947.  The fountain installation was carried out by Pfists Inc., a company based in Douglasville, Ga., with expertise in fountain installations. Pfists has also worked on numerous other fountains within the High Point University campus.

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Project scope

The fountain is a circular tiered fountain with a diameter of approximately 11 m (38 ft) and a height of approximately 6 m (20 ft). At the top of the fountain, there is a 6-in. (152-mm) deep upper basin with a 5.4 m (18 ft) diameter that houses the platform for the Panther sculpture.

Water is introduced to the upper basin beneath the steel platform and flows down to the intermediate pool basin, which has a diameter of 6.4 m (21 ft). “The basin weighs over 6,000 lbs [2,721 kg] and has 6 in. [152 mm] of water that acts as a weir with water flowing over it like an infinity pool over its entire 360-degree perimeter,” says Robert Hayter of LKC Engineering.

From there, the water cascades down a series of steps to the lower basin before being returned to an equipment vault for filtration and recirculation. As the water flows over the rocks, it agitates the water, making it look like a real waterfall. Hayter adds, “This is a very unorthodox design, but it creates a very impactful, visual effect.”

The panther design led LKC Engineering to add in a rock design into the fountain. This custom design element allowed the panther to be standing on the rocks with water flowing all around.

The panther sculpture itself is very unique. There are quite a few panthers on campus, as it is the athletic icon of the university. “Keith really achieved what the university wanted, all the way down to the way the tail is formed,” says Hayter. In fact, Keith travelled with the sculpture on a semi-truck across the country. The sculpture is made of bronze and weighs more than 2,267 kg (5,000 lbs), and it was made in California.

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This fountain, in particular, is not meant to be a tranquil fountain; it is not subtle or sedate. On the contrary, it is energetic. “Mr. Qubein is a first-generation Lebanese who was very successful and he believes water represents power, energy, and life,” says Hayter. “The fountain energizes folks as they come in, it’s a cauldron of energy.”

The fountain also projects the sound of crashing water in the form of background sound. It can be heard 15 m (50 ft) apart.

The equipment

The fountain equipment includes various components, such as freestanding and flush mount lights, junction boxes, water-level sensors, skimmers, drains, diverter plates, water stops, and anti-vortex/diverter sumps. These components are carefully selected and integrated into the fountain design to ensure proper functionality and esthetics.

The equipment vault houses the necessary pumps, sand filters, and UL-listed panels for lighting and fountain controls. It is fully engineered and pre-assembled for easy installation. The fountain’s underground vault and control centre is located about 15 m (50 ft) away and contains all the water treatment, pumps, purification, and plumbing. There is nothing in the base of the fountain.

The vault is about the size of an accessibility bathroom. “Fountain people are terrific at taking what we draw and design, then make it a reality with pumps, pipes and nozzles,” says Hayter.  “They make our visions a reality.”

The lighting

The fountain lighting system incorporates both freestanding and niche LED lights, providing illumination in all three basins of the fountain. The specific LED lights used in the project were carefully selected for their functionality and ability to create captivating visual effects.

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The colours of the lights were chosen specifically to reflect the university’s school colour, which is purple, but it can also be programmed to other themes throughout the year—such as red and green at Christmas, and orange during Halloween, etc. “The university puts on an incredible Christmas Open House and they invite the public and those LED lights on the fountain are central to the beauty of the event,” adds Hayter.

In the upper basin and intermediate pool, a total of 16 freestanding light fixtures were installed. These fixtures are equipped with red, green, blue, and white (RGBW) diodes. The RGBW diodes allow for a wide range of options, including individual colours or white light. The LED fixtures can be programmed and controlled using a digital multiplex (DMX) system, enabling dynamic light changing displays during nighttime operations or for special events.

Further, the lower basin features 16 stainless steel adjustable niche light fixtures integrated into the wall. These provide additional illumination and accentuate the architectural elements of the fountain. Like the freestanding fixtures, the niche LED lights can also be set to individual colours or white, offering flexibility in creating desired lighting effects.

Overall, the combination of the freestanding LED lights with RGBW diodes and stainless steel niche LEDs enhances the esthetic appeal of the Qubein Arena Panther Fountain, providing an engaging visual experience for spectators, students, families, fans, and visitors alike.

Not one, but three fountains

Although the panther fountain is the most striking fountain in this space, there are two additional, circular fountains that sit on either side of the panther fountain in this large, hardscape area in front of the arena.

While there are several entrances to the building, the fountain with the panther is located at the front of the activity level front as visitors approach the building, it is where people gather and there are lines of patrons coming to watch athletic events and concerts.

“Designing in this hardscape area, we needed to create a large enough space for many people entering at once, but also to help with the flow of people, for gatherings, and to allow for emergency vehicles and for protection of the building itself,” explains Hayter.

“We finally landed on a design with three fountains. The one, larger fountain at the centre with the panther, and two smaller circular fountains which resulted in what we affectionally called ‘mickey-mouses ears.’”

For the two “mickey-mouse ear” fountains on either side of the panther fountain, Lou Sadler was the primary designer. Sadler was careful to design fountains that were keeping with the building’s architecture, while complementing the larger fountain. Hayter describes the campus as “Georgian architecture, but on steroids” because the scale is not traditional, but the forms and materials are Georgian.

The space in that area greatly impacted the size and scale of the smaller two fountains. “We had to be sure there was room for people as well as EMS, firetrucks, full coach buses around the main fountain and the two smaller fountains had to accommodate UPS and other smaller types of vehicles that pull up to the building, as well as protecting the building and helping with people flow,” explains Hayter.

Sadler began playing with classical European forms of tiered fountains found in French and Italian fountains with scuppers that fall from one to another.  The fountains have brick on the lower basin and the precast concrete in the fountains looks like limestone—borrowing from the building’s architecture and incorporating the design into the fountain.  Each bowl has its own supply of water that is super-charged, so it looks like the water from the top makes it way to the bottom in a uniform manner, without running out of water by the time it gets to the bottom.  These fountains are completely custom made, using colourized concrete, by a company in Georgia called Georgia Pre-Cast.

Hardscape plaza

These fountains help with the flow of people and keep cars from getting too close to the auditorium for safety. The space is an active drop off and valet area and is very frequently turned into an urban plaza for use before events in the arena.

The hardscape in this plaza is made up entire of concrete unit pavers, a style known as Belgium cobble. It is not rough and any shoe can walk on it—from stilettos to sneakers. It is very safe and imitates a stone street or plaza. For the crosswalks, those are all walk-pavers. LKC used paver stones that look like cleft rock. These pavers are in the non-vehicular zones so the texture and type of paver visually indicate they are in a pedestrian zone. The visual cues for pedestrians and vehicles come from the hardscape pavers. In addition, there are crash-rated bollard barricades positioned strategically near the fountains, which are also strong enough to prevent a runaway vehicle from inadvertently making its way toward the building.

The entire approach to the plaza with the fountains is also designed for what is known as “progressive realization.” Visitors cannot see the panther fountain all at once. There are round-abouts and an elliptical lawn that slows the approach to the plaza and challenges the visual perspective from multiple viewpoints as people approach the panther from the street. It is a negotiated centrepiece, meaning one needs to negotiate and head toward the panther, making it a visual reward.

Collaborative team

It is important to note that this university has a very robust use of water features throughout the campus. In fact, there is a water feature at every roundabout on campus. There are at least 20 water features including fountains, sequencing fountains, waterfall fountains, reflecting pools and more. These three fountains are some of the most impressive, but they had to also align with the other fountains on campus.

The successful completion of the Qubein Arena Panther Fountain project was the result of close collaboration among multiple entities. High Point University, LKC Engineering, Pfists Inc., and Fountain People (FP) worked together to bring the project to life. Smith & Jennings, Inc. served as the general contractor for the fountain, and they had previously collaborated with the team on other projects within the university campus.

Notes

¹ For more information about the Qubein Arena and Conference Center, visit www.highpoint.edu/arena/[5].

² To view the project on Codaworx, see www.codaworx.com/projects/panther-fountain-for-qubein-arena/[6].

³ About the sculptor: Brian Keith, the artist behind the panther sculpture, is responsible for the creation and casting of the 6 m (20 ft) bronze sculpture. To learn more about him and see his work, visit briankeithfineart.com/qubein-arena-panther-fountain[7].

Author

Bryan Had is regional sales manager/engineer for Fountain People, a commercial fountain manufacturing and design firm located in San Marcos, Texas.

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/features/installing-statement-water-features-the-qubein-arena-panther-fountain-project/

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