Winter Fountains

Artist Jennifer Steinkamp’s Winter Fountains, or as she calls them, “giants”, were presented by the Parkway Council and commissioned by the Association for Public Art (aPA). The installation was on view along the Parkway from November 30, 2017 – March 18, 2018 and was made possible with major support from the William Penn Foundation. Depth restrictions, buried utility locations, availability to get permanent power to the site, and topography, to name a few, were taken into consideration during the site selection process. The final sites chosen included one outside the Franklin Institute, one outside the Rodin Museum, one outside of Park Towne Place Residences, and one at the Spring Garden triangle across from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Each fiberglass dome was 4,500-pounds, and 13 feet high by 26 feet wide.

Pennoni worked closely with the aPA and Ms. Steinkamp to provide various constructability reviews and value engineering tasks throughout the duration of the project. Based on criteria provided by aPA, Pennoni provided the designs for the poles and foundations to mount the digital projectors which are used to show off the imagery on the domes. The electrical design required some strategizing as permanent power was not available at any site. After evaluation of various options, Pennoni ultimately decided to use portable generator power. To place the domes and projector poles on site, coordinated field surveys and land development as well as the wiring layout and generator enclosure locations were provided.

Winter Fountains (2017) by Jennifer Steinkamp, presented by the Parkway Council and commissioned by the Association for Public Art (aPA). Photo © James Ewing Photography