"
The Haskins Memorial Fountain "
A bronze and slate fountain in memory of Paul Haskins, MD
1994
The Haskins Memorial Fountain is located in the River Falls Area Hospital,
River Falls, Wisconsin. It features a shingled slate trickle cascade wall and
a waterbell fountain in the bronze fountain bowl.
The Fountain was commissioned in memory of Dr. Paul Haskins, one of the
founding physicians of the hospital.
The fountain site is at the intersection of three hallways. One which leads
from the main entrance and receptionist,
one which leads to the patient care area, and the other which leads to the
clinic and patient admissions area.
The site was fomerly a series of three corners which were placed there by the
architect to break up a long blank wall.
I replaced the center corner with the fountain.
The fountain has a bench for sitting on, a glistening wall wash cascade on the back wall, and a small basin with a bell jet fountain at about table level to act as a focus for meditation. It has tiled wing walls to contain any splashing from the rear wall cascade. The white noise generated by the flowing water has proved to be very effective at masking the sometimes scary sounds of hospital machinery, and traffic. It softens the space and relaxes patients, visitors, and staff. The fountain was preassembled in sections and installed quickly and with a minimum of disruption to the hospital. |
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site photo |
detail, (32k - jpeg) larger image |
The bronze basins of the fountain were hand formed using processes known as
drawing and raising.
The bronze is annealed to make it softer and more workable and then pounded
into shape until it work hardens. It is then reannealed and the process is
repeated until the piece has been beaten to the desired shape.
For more information on metal working techniques check the Guild of Metalsmiths
web site, education section.
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If you are interested in discussing a site specific fountain send Gene an note .