<p>[The</a> Crimson White | UA plans to build new fountain by Shelby](<a href=“http://cw.ua.edu/2013/03/18/ua-plans-to-build-new-fountain-by-shelby/]The”>http://cw.ua.edu/2013/03/18/ua-plans-to-build-new-fountain-by-shelby/) </p>
<p>Supposed to be ready for the Fall.</p>
<p>I think it’s great. But, do fountains really cost nearly $2M??? That seems awfully high. I would think they could build a nice swimming pool for less than that!</p>
<p>oh, wait, this fountain will be HUGE!</p>
<p>All the way across it will almost be as big as the Shelby Hall rotunda.”</p>
<p>The Shelby Hall Rotunda is very large!</p>
<p>And, the cost isn’t for just the fountain…</p>
<p>is tied into a number of other projects, such as lighting, landscaping and the fountain itself,” Wolfe explained. “The entire project does cost $1,800,000 in total though.”</p>
<p>I’m guessing that there will be seating as well since they want it to be a gathering spot.</p>
<p>Wow…$1.8m?! For a fountain and some landscaping that is just wasteful. There are so many other physical plant causes that money could have gone towards. Here are some I can think of:</p>
<ul>
<li>putting in some mature trees in the S&E quad</li>
<li>bringing every last restroom on campus to modern standards of privacy and accommodation</li>
<li>installing more wifi routers</li>
<li>adding more bus and bike lanes to campus streets</li>
</ul>
<p>Was anybody clamoring for a huge fountain in the middle of the new quad?</p>
<p>When I describe the BAMA campus to folks who have never been there, I often state that it is almost “CG” in that the beauty of the old Live Oaks, the consistency of the architecture, the greenness of the campus, the scenic edge provided by the Black Warrier River, etc result is a whole that is so lovely it could have been computer-generated as the ultimate traditional college campus.</p>
<p>Given the size of the budget that yields a new or renovated building every seventy days, two million is a tiny drop in the bucket. </p>
<p>Falling water results in a cooling effect, provides soothing white noise, and is stunning to observe. When night-lit, it can be astounding.</p>
<p>Given my profession, I am biased, but the occasional nod to pure aesthetics can truly change the tenre of the environment. This fountain may well become the site friends met, couples woo, lunches are consumed, homework is done, and events significant and small occur daily.</p>
<p>Art is like that.</p>
<p>I am glad BAMA pursues a lively landscape as the backdrop for our children’s lives.</p>
<p>I suspect nobody was clamoring for it but the aesthetic appeal is probably worth it. When visiting campuses, perspective candidates are often won over by the beauty of a campus. We haven’t ever visited the campus but since its now on our radar I have become more and more impressed with the vision behind this university’s growth. The addition of a new performing arts center sounds great too!</p>
<p>wow TXArchitect beat me in responding and made a much stronger case for this fountain. Nice post! You can tell who the artist is here ;-)</p>
<p>What is the current value of $40,000 in 1929???</p>
<p>Denny Chimes cost $40,000 on the eve of the Great Depression…</p>
<p>The goal is the have the SEC Complex to be both beautiful as well as state of the art. They’re trying to attract the best and brightest profs and students. </p>
<p>the SEC Complex Quad is huge, so huge that the Quad itself was screaming for something to fill some of it’s space. </p>
<p>Since the fountain will be almost as large as the Rotunda (the center of the pentagon of Shelby), I am looking forward to seeing artist renderings. This thing must be massive. I’m picturing a very large shallow pool with something in the center shooting up water, but who knows! lol</p>
<p>* This fountain may well become the site friends met, couples woo, lunches are consumed, homework is done, and events significant and small occur daily.*</p>
<p>Hey, it may become our version of Three Coins in a Fountain. Visitors who throw coins in will always come back.</p>
<p>Yes, that new eng’g/science quad area needs something massive to fill the space. It looks very unfinished (imo).</p>
<p>@TXA, looks like the cost of Denny Chimes was equivalent to about half a million. [Inflation</a> Calculator | Find US Dollar’s Value from 1913-2013](<a href=“http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/]Inflation”>http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/)</p>
<p>Also, am I mistaken in thinking that while some of y’all are referring to the fountain being located on the S&E Quad, it is actually going to be in Shelby courtyard, the smaller pentagonal area completely surrounded by Shelby?</p>
<p>Chimes but no running water, lol</p>
<p>TNTide, </p>
<p>That is what I thought when I first heard this news, but actually, the official name of the new Science and Engineering Quad, is “The Shelby Quad.” And there are pictures on another website which show construction of the fountain smack dab in them middle of this large space, NOT the smaller one enclosed by the Shelby Hall building.</p>
<p>I think the space is screaming for some feature. With the expansion of campus to the east(?), the Shelby Quad is going to be more centrally located, and I can envision the green space being used by a large portion of the student population - especially if there is seating and the cooling effect of water. The original Quad is lovely but to me seems more like a pass through area rather than a meeting place or place to relax outdoors. They will need to locate a convenient dining spot (larger than Stewart’s(?) Cafe) nearby to make it truly user friendly.</p>
<p>I think the new quad and fountain seems pretty similar to the way Purdue’s engineering part of campus is. And MereMom they’re already one step ahead of you :), they are putting a dining hall right behind Rogers Library (the library on the Shelby Quad).</p>
<p>Perfect!!!</p>
<p>I think the fountain is going in the “quad” that is located in between all the SEC buildings. That area is massive.</p>
<p>The size of the fountain will be quite large since it’s being compared to the space inside the pentagon center area…the rotunda. </p>
<p>I don’t know how many acres are within the SEC quad, but there must be a good number. 10 acres? More? I don’t know how big that rotunda is. A half acre? an acre?</p>
<p>If the fountain will be about the size of the rotunda, then that suggests something along the lines of a half acre or more. Would that sound right? That sounds huge. lol</p>
<p>Denny Chimes is a very simple structure, and has a small footprint.</p>
<p>* And there are pictures on another website which show construction of the fountain smack dab in them middle of this large space, NOT the smaller one enclosed by the Shelby Hall building.*</p>
<p>can you post that link?</p>
<p>@dixiedelight - I was thinking the same thing (about Purdue)! However, the description said it would be a raised basin, I think. No Shelby fountain runs - that will have to be a Ferg fountain thing, I guess…</p>
<p>When the Purdue fountain was “traditional” with a basin, it was perpetually being “soaped” and every incident it had to be drained and cleaned to prevent damage to the pumps and spouts. I think that is why the Purdue fountain eventually went “underground” with the basin - the fountain runs were a by-product of no open basin!</p>
<p>It’s going in the space in between all of the buildings, not in the courtyard in the middle of shelby hall. M2CK, I think they were comparing it to the domed part of shelby (the dome being the rotunda). Its a pretty good deal smaller than the pentagon courtyard in the middle of Shelby, but it’s still huge. If you look through this pdf <a href=“Titanium Chef | Home”>http://acresummit.ua.edu/store/store_files/Jason_Walker-207.pdf</a>, I believe their is a very preliminary rendering of the fountain. It looks kind of small in this to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of the $1.8 million is for simply laying sod down. </p>
<p>That’s funny about the fountain runs. I remember seeing someone ride their bike through the ferg fountain only to end up just busting their tail haha. I hope we don’t have the same problems with people soaping the water.</p>
<p>They were soaping the Fountain at Purdue back before soap was invented…(I was there in the mid seventies) and the “soap” color often reflected the holiday or season.</p>
<p>Orange for Halloween was my favorite…</p>