Hundreds of decorative drinking fountains – or “pyaus,” as they’re called in Hindi – were erected in the middle of markets and along tram routes by wealthy Indian philanthropists during the British colonial era. Many of these were donated to their surrounding communities as gifts and often constructed as tributes to the patron’s family members.

At the time the fountains were built, water would flow freely and continuously from the city’s underground pipes. However, Mumbai’s 20th-century population explosion taxed the available water supply so much that by the 1960s, fountain use was restricted to just a few hours a day. The inconsistency and lack of upgrades even caused some of them to dry up completely.

As indoor plumbing started to become standard for middle and upper-class residents, public reservoirs were further strained. Bottled water also gained popularity as a drinking option. Subsequently, most of the pyaus have been forgotten and fallen into disrepair.

As access to water remains a constant problem for Indian’s poorer residents, city officials and activists are currently leading an effort to restore the public fountains. Back in 2008, BMC, Mumbai’s municipal corporation, commissioned architecture firm Vaastu Vidhaan, led by architect Rahul Chemburkar, to restore two pyaus, including the Keshavji Nayak fountain, named in honor of its original sponsor from the 1870s. It’s a grand edifice to be sure, towering over the market square with its 30-foot columns and ornately carved canopy. The base is adorned with statues of sacred Hindu bulls, which point visitors up to stone pots containing the life-giving liquid (which today comes from a municipal connection installed in 2015).

“It’s like a cultural oasis,” Chemburkar told NPR in an interview, estimating that about 50 people an hour come to the fountains for a drink. And most importantly, the water is available to anyone, no matter their religion or caste.

“In wide contrast, all over the country you see a lot of discrimination over the ownership of water,” he adds, pointing out examples of minority Muslims and Dalits being physically attacked for trying to drink from public wells. He says these pyaus come with an implicit understanding, though, that they are open to all.

Greater access is needed more now than ever, with the pandemic intensifying water inequalities among Mumbai’s 18.4 million residents. A November 2020 study from the NGO Committee for the Right to Water found that the city’s poorest residents were spending more on the essential liquid than they were before COVID hit, as their normal sources (places like schools and workplaces) were locked down. Today, many of those low-income inhabitants are forced to pool their money just to pay for water from private tanker-trucks.

“Even as public service announcements were issued reminding people to wash their hands regularly with soap, at least 2 million people in Mumbai wondered how to follow such recommendations without regular, adequate, and affordable water access,” the study adds.

Even though Mumbai has installed many water ATMs at railway stations as a means of making it more affordable, they still charge a fee. That’s why one of the study’s biggest recommendations was to build more pyaus, even if they are less ornate, to provide totally free H2O.

The BMC has also identified 30 existing pyaus to be restored over the next few years as part of a sweeping public works project. “[The decorative elements] give a lot of dignity to the simple act of drinking water,” says Chemburkar. “Today we … miss aesthetics in public architecture.”

The post Mumbai’s Historical Fountains Get a Revamp, Giving Indians More Access to Free Water first appeared on Dornob.

Apparitions are usually pretty tough to explain to those around you, but in the case of the Ghost Ship, it’s something everyone looking at Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Bridge can witness. The temporary art installation is stationed there for public viewing from now until the first week in November.

Aligning perfectly with the month associated with all things ghastly, the Ghost Ship sits in the river between Race Street Pier and Pier 12 and is visible every Wednesday through Sunday night. The illusion is created with the help of mist fountains anchored beneath the surface of the water. The hazy sails are brought to life using lighting projected from a nearby platform.

Designers of the art installation intentionally set it up so that the ship’s port side would be visible from Race Street Pier, while its bow can be seen from the nearby Columbus Boulevard. For added folly, a pop-up Ghost Ship beer garden sits on the waterfront on evenings when the ship appears.

It’s not a hallucination caused by beer goggles, though. Instead, a lot of planning and preparation went into bringing the piece to the river. It’s the first result of the Delaware River Waterfront Corp.’s new Waterfront Arts Program, which aims to explore the history and diversity of the area through works of art. With this in mind, organizers opened up a call for exhibitions that represented that goal.

“We’ve always had cultural events like fireworks displays at the waterfront,” says DRWC President Joe Forkin. “So we started to think about how art complements the waterfront and how it can bring new audiences here.” The council debated, scrutinized, and brainstormed ideas until they agreed to focus on past and present communities affected by the Delaware River as a theme for the works.

The exhibition call was answered by Ryan Strand Greenberg, a public art curator and photographer from the area. Having visited an inspirational light display in Amsterdam with a similar theme, Greenberg reached out to Biangle Studio (based in Estonia), who agreed to modify their original work to represent the history of migration in the area during the 18th century — when the river was used to carry products like cocoa beans and crude oil, as well as both free and enslaved people.

“This particular time period was really important to the city’s development,” Greenberg explains. “It contributed to the social fabric of Philadelphia.”

The team studied ships from the target era until they decided on the final model. They then hired local engineering firm Pennoni to obtain permits, anchor the lighting, install a submersible power cable in the river itself, and mount lights on nearby properties.

“It was a pretty neat project for us, because this is the kind of project that our guys don’t get to work on every day,” says David DeLizza, President and CEO of Pennoni.

The installation will be visible from 7 to 10 PM on all the aforementioned evenings, and onlookers can even enjoy a self-guided tour via smartphone on SoundCloud, as accessed through the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation’s official website.

The post New “Ghost Ship” Installation Haunts Philadelphia’s Ben Franklin Bridge first appeared on Dornob.

There are hundreds of creative ideas out there that’ll inspire you to upcycle broken or partly dismantled musical objects so that they can continue to bring joy to all those who come across them. We’ve selected a few that seem particularly doable:

Piano Art

How about hollowing out an old wooden piano to reveal its intricate interior and displaying it in your office space like a work of art? Nothing could feel more distinguished than sitting down in front of strings, keys, and pedals while completing your daily office duties. If you’re more into the hosting scene, why not convert that majestic wooden body into an outdoor bar? Hammer some hooks into the backboard to hang your wine glasses off, install some separated compartments to store all your ingredients, and use the pedal shelf to keep your spirits in order. Failing that, you can always strip away the keys and use your piano as a unique dining cabinet or library shelf.

French Horn Fountain

One of the best conversions we stumbled on was that of a rusty old French horn into the main feature of an outdoor fountain. Put your plumbing talents to good use by fitting the horn with a pump that will shoot running water straight out of the bell. Then sit back and enjoy the sound of droplets tapping and trickling onto the brass.

Guitar Shelving

Hollow out your old axe and hang it on the wall to create a quirky shelving unit. There are loads of examples for this scattered all over the internet, with tutorials on everything from building mini shelves into the body to selecting the right paints and transforming it into an iconic yet practical structure.

If you fancy putting a musical twist into your landscape, you can always chop off half of your guitar’s body (horizontally) to make the perfect planter for your summer seeds. Help nature and music combine by allowing your acoustic instrument to be overtaken by beautiful foliage.

Drum Decor

Use an old set of drums as lamp shades, creating a tiered chandelier or rounded nightstand in the process. They can also be used as seats or bar stools: just secure each drum to a sturdy stand and pad out the top with a comfortable cushion for your chums to sit on.

It’s time to whip out the old drawing board to see what creative concepts you can devise for these rare scrapheap finds. Not only is it really fun, but it’s also a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to live!

The post Art in the Home: 4 Ways to Repurpose Musical Instruments first appeared on Dornob.

Imagine that you are a dog living on the 20^th floor of a condo tower in one of America’s densly-populated downtown areas. You become agitated if you’re inside for too long, and to get your human’s attention, you either have to bark at them or out the window. Maybe you sit facing the door with your head on the floor looking bored. Your human, a conscientious urbanite who loves you unconditionally, picks up on your cues, and takes you out for a walk. Still, you yearn for an expansive dog park where you can run with the other dogs. Unfortunately, most downtowns do not have enough space to create the type of park that would get your tail wagging with content. You’ll have to settle for a cramped, corporately-managed public space, filled with as much fun as a cardboard box.

Don’t wallow in discouragement, dear pretend-canine reader. A small park in Toronto opened on June 28^th for creatures just like you, and it’s called Berczy Park. The name alone makes it sounds like a playful place, and that was the intention of the Montreal-based landscape architect who designed it, Claude Cormier. The park, which takes up approximately 0.88 acres of land, is set on a triangular block adjacent to a key part of Toronto’s architectural heritage, the iconic Gooderham Building, also know as the “Flatiron Building.” Berczy proves that even a small, irregular parcel of land in a dense city can be used effectively, as long as all users, both two and four-legged, are considered.

Tens of thousands of people have moved to downtown Toronto within the past decade, which means more dogs and more humans who feel uncomfortable having dogs around their kids. The coexistence of dog lovers and families can be a little acrimonious in a city like Toronto. Luckily, Berczy allows both groups to enjoy the space peaceably, and if the humans get along, that is always good for the dogs.

Prior to 1980, this space was a parking lot. Then it became an underutilized park, except for a couple of hours in the afternoon during the summers when office workers would use it. In short, the park was not serving the maximum amount of users that it could have been. Since its transformation into a dog park, it’s expected to host about 2000 dogs a day. It’s an ideal paradise for dog watching.

Though the park is not a folly, it purposely lacks seriousness. It’s centerpiece is a late-19^th-century inspired cast iron fountain. Made at a foundry in Alabama, the fountain is 16 feet wide and weighs 26,000 pounds. Surrounding the fountain are 27 hand-crafted sculptures of dogs spewing water into it, each one transfixed by a large golden bone at its summit. You can splash and play with the other dogs in the water, and cool off on a hot summer day.

The dogs sculptures look real enough, but you can tell that they aren’t, which is part of the fun of the fountain — it’s almost like the way humans are thrilled by looking at wax figures of themselves in museums. Over a dozen breeds are represented here, including a Fox Terrier, a Giant Schnauzer, a Beagle, and a Golden Retriever (which was damaged by an exuberant skateboarder just before the park’s grand opening).

What a shame. Some humans just don’t understand or respect dogs and the things they like.

The fountain sits on a granite mosaic plaza, which includes luscious, grassy areas to roll around in and a gravel portion for restrooms. Berczy is not a generic public space with grass and a sign letting people know that dogs are welcome. It’s a memorable public space for both dogs and humans — one that’s timeless, amusing, and sure to keep your tail wagging for hours.

Berczy Park, which is named after German-born architect William Berczy, a historic figure of modern Toronto, gives that portion of downtown a focal point where none truly existed before. It’s a delightful park that should serve as an example for American cities to follow. All American dogs, especially those who live in high-rise condos in dense cities, should have a right to a quirky park of their own, no matter how quixotic it may seem. Tell your humans to take the fight all the way to city hall or the Supreme Court if they have to.

The cost to revitalize Berczy Park was $7.2 million Canadian (approximately $5.7 million US). But what do you care, you’re just a dog, right?

In reality, you’re not, and you might find Berczy Park to be mere kitsch and its spouting sculptures nothing but cheap postmodern gimmicks, but remember that Cormier didn’t just design it for humans. If you were a dog, you’d love it.

The post This is What Happens When a Park Goes to the Dogs first appeared on Dornob.

Even a simple water feature can take an ordinary deck and turn it into something magnificent. But a water feature fashioned by celebrated industrial designer James Dyson (of Dyson vacuums fame) is bound to be the most unforgettable water feature ever.

This particular fountain, part of an overall garden design dubbed “The Wrong Garden,” was created by Dyson for the Royal Horticultural Society’s 2003 Chelsea Flower Show. Like everything else designed by Dyson, it accomplishes a seemingly impossible task with highly astonishing style: in this case, it makes water flow uphill.

Dyson’s inspiration for the highly unusual outdoor fountain was M.C. Escher’s “Waterfall,” an illustration in which a stream of water seemingly breaks the laws of physics. Likewise, Dyson’s fountain looks like it somehow exists in a loophole where gravity has no control over the flow of water. A constant stream seemingly flows up the long surfaces of four triangular water tanks before spilling off of the highest points.

How can that be real, you ask? The secret is deceptively simple: the water is actually flowing inside and through the tanks and being propelled through small openings at the highest corner of the tanks. The stream flowing “up” the tanks is actually flowing down after spilling through the openings, but the illusion is so effective that it is hard to identify the trick even when looking right at it.

Will we see home versions of this baffling “uphill fountain” illusion anytime soon? People involved in the Dyson project think it could be recreated on a smaller scale, even though they are unwilling to share exactly how the illusion was achieved. Until the vacuum giant starts selling a DIY kit, duplicators are on their own. Do you have any insight into how Dyson achieved this remarkable illusion that you’d like to share?

The post Water Flows Uphill in Mysterious Fountain first appeared on Dornob.

It is such a pervasive daily annoyance that most of us have just learned to live with: bending over, craning our necks and turning our heads sideways just to get some water out of the bathroom sink to drink or rinse our mouths with.

Designer duo Jinsun Park and Byungmin Woo, however, have had enough. They have designed a simple system for switching between down-pouring and up-spouting water so that any ordinary sink (commercial or home) can double as a drinking fountain.

The direction of water flow is reversed with the simple push of a button and the overall design has elements of both a standard sink and a facility to drink from. All in all this is another great example of solving a universal problem most people take for granted. Who knows, this might become a standard interior design fixture for every bathroom.

The post Reversible Sink Faucet Functions as a Water Fountain first appeared on Dornob.