Water as Groundwork: Water Features, Placemaking, & Resilience in the Public Realm

Chris Roy

Water features have long served as civic landmarks, cultural gathering places, and defining elements of memorable public spaces. Today, designers are often challenged to justify the use of water within landscapes that must be sustainable, resilient, resource-conscious, and operationally responsible. This presentation reframes fountains and water features not as decorative afterthoughts, but as integrated placemaking elements that can support civic identity, biophilic experience, microclimate comfort, environmental performance, and long-term public value. Directed toward landscape architects and allied design professionals, the session will explore how water features can be incorporated responsibly into parks, plazas, campuses, streetscapes, mixed-use developments, civic spaces, and other public-realm environments. The presentation will address both the experiential value of water and the practical design, detailing, construction, and operational decisions that determine whether a feature succeeds over time.