Construction of a fountain in the form of a concave-convex concrete shell

Abstract

The paper describes the construction of a concrete shell of a fountain with a unique concave-convex mathematically generated form. The fountain, which is 9.5 m long, 4 m wide and 2 meters high, was erected in September 2001 in the main square of the historic city of Solkan in Slovenia. The architecture of the fountain, the studies of water flow, the static analysis and realization of the project were performed by various experts from corresponding fields from Slovenia. The paper describes the process of conceptual design and the main phases of water flow study, static analysis and erection, as well as unique and expensive cladding of the shell with 3D formed marble tiles (made by computer driven CNC machines). All the phases of construction are well documented with pictures and films.