It lives and changes,» he said. This pavilion featuring green walls and a colonnade was designed by German studio Raumlaborberlin to surround a small fountain in the centre of Montreal (+ slideshow). «The skin of the building is more than just a shelter or an enclosure. «Plants, fungi and small organisms create their own small biological habitat on the outside, as well as the inside of the fountain house.»
Twelve wide arched openings in the structure’s twelve grassy sides lead through to a circular colonnade. Related story: Zaha Hadid and Hopkins among architects to design London water fountains
The Berlin-based office created the piece to highlight the free public spaces and infrastructures – including free water – that are available within the city but often overlooked. Site plan – click for larger imagFloor plan – click for larger imageSection – click for larger image The wooden-framed structure is wrapped in a layer of soil peppered with grass and fungi seeds that will continue to sprout and grow over the duration of the festival. «The project wishes to re-address the notion of the public good by celebrating free access to it,» said architect Markus Bader, whose team previously designed an inflatable semi-spherical pavilion for a New York festival. «The Fountain House is to be a place for this celebration to find a place and a shape, to give it a presence in public-shared city spaces,» he told Dezeen. «The Fountain House – with its open ground plan, overlapping archways for entering and accessible rooftop – offers a space for various kinds of public use,» added the architect. Raumlaborberlin produced the Fountain House for Montreal festival La Biennale de Montréal: L’avenir, which runs until 4 January 2015. Raumlaborberlin built the dodecagonal wooden structure, named The Fountain House, on a patch of wasteland in the centre of Montreal, Canada, as part of a local arts festival
. Wooden benches positioned around the pool of water provide a place where visitors can contemplate the pool and vapour clouds.
