Hyde Park public drinking fountain
marks move away from bottled water
The first new public drinking fountain in Hyde Park, London for 30 years — designed and made by David Harber — is now open to the public.
The Freeman Family Fountain, just 300 metres from Marble Arch, offers an alternative to bottled water for visitors to the central London park.
It is also a unique and beautiful public water feature, very different to run-of-the-mill drinking fountains. David Harber's brief was to design a unique, visually striking public drinking fountain, sculptural in form yet robust and practical in function.
The fountain has four separate drinking positions at varying heights to cater for different types of users. A spout where water bottles may be filled allows joggers in the park to do away with bottled water altogether.
Set on a plinth of hammered granite the Freeman Family Fountain is a sphere 1.2 metres in diameter. It is made from mirror-polished, marine-grade stainless steel, studded with petals of oxidized verdigris bronze.
“The Freeman Family Fountain is a striking addition to Hyde Park and a great step forward in supporting future water provision in The Royal Parks.”
“I am certain that it will be warmly welcomed by the thousands of runners, riders, dog walkers and cyclists who use the Park every day” according to Joel Cadbury, Chairman of the Royal Parks Foundation, the charity for London's eight Royal Parks.
The public water feature has been donated by Michael Freeman, a Trustee of the Royal Parks Foundation and joint founder of Argent Group, the developer of King's Cross Central, - the largest development currently being built in Central London.
Michael Freeman says: “I've been running in the Park for years, starting and finishing a few yards from where the fountain stands. I hope a great many people will enjoy using the fountain; and enjoy looking at it as well. I think it looks terrific.”
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