Client: Center City District, Philadelphia

Overview

Dilworth Park’s “Pulse” water feature, envisioned by artist Janet Echelman, is a multi-sensory experience that showcases an interactive scrim fountain programmed to release clouds of fog in a programmed sequence that coordinates with the site’s transit lines.”Pulse” utilizes a high-pressure evaporative misting system that creates an ultra-fine, fog-like, cool mist.

Goals

Koolfog President, Bryan Roe reflects, “It was extremely important for our team to maintain the authenticity of the artist’s vision while designing a practical solution for use in a public setting. Working with a conceptual design, our engineers developed a small-scale prototype that was tested using the fog system, air curtain and baffles. These were eventually sized to a larger-scale sectional mockup replicating the actual trench with grating that was representative of the city’s railway station intersection lines. The success of our prototype and testing phase produced technical specifications and drawings for implementation and construction purposes.” As Pulse became a reality, Koolfog was commissioned for services on-site in collaboration with the greater Pulse development team to ensure proper integration and fine-tune the fog effects.

Process

Koolfog teamed with Studio Echelman, Center City District, Olin Studio, Urban Engineers, CMS Collaborative, Arup Lighting and 1212 Studio to create the Dilworth Park featured fountain, Pulse, to life. Using a series of Koolfog high-pressure fog systems to deliver atomized water particles and forming it within a linear air curtain, the fog effect releases approximately three feet of mist in a pattern that moves along a grated pathway illuminating train arrivals and departures.

Additional Information

Dilworth Park Project was honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) with its inaugural Award of Excellence in Urban Design 2020. https://www.asla.org/2020awards/495.html.