Fountain Designer Has Olympic Pedigree

Friday, July 11, 2008

-The Arizona Republic- Erin Zlomek

The designer of an elaborate water fountain to be displayed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing is also the company behind a laser-light water unit set to become the visual centerpiece of a Surprise retail center.

Oase, a water-technology company based in Germany, helped create the Olympic Park Musical Fountain that will entertain attendees of the upcoming summer games, said Esterra Development Business Development Manager Jacee Carosella.

Oase equipment used in that fountain will also be used at Esterra's Bell Mar shopping plaza under construction near Bell Road and Avenue of the Arts, Carosella said.

The laser-light water fountain would sit facing Bell Road in the plaza's center. Twenty arched jets would spit water out of a zero-edge pool as color-changing, neon-laser lights shine through each stream. Bell Mar fountain shows would be choreographed to music and run every hour.

The plaza sits at the east entrance of Surprise along Bell Road, and is likely the first city landmark noticed by the nearly 70,000 drivers who pass through the intersection each day.

Because the area is so well traveled, Carosella said the goal is to employ unique visuals to grab passengers' attention.

"(City planners) said they wanted a destination plaza, not an everyday retail strip center. It's not a place to just come and shop, but to enjoy and encourage visitors, which is why we created the fountain," Carosella said.

In addition to the fountain, three giant ship masts rigged with sails to provide shade will tower over the complex.

Though Oase's technology will be put to use in the Surprise fountain, it is being designed and installed locally by Phoenix-based Aquatec Fountains.

A rendering shows a laser-light water fountain for Surprise's Bell Mar shopping center that is being designed by a German company that also is designing several water fountain effects at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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