Climate fountain – Kanaleneiland

The climate fountain is a public facility that brings the residents of Kanaleneiland into contact with information about climate change. Besides raising awareness, the fountain acts as an urban oasis that reduces the effects of heat stress and promotes mutual interaction between residents.

The fountain is running full of water every hour and thereafter empty again. This shows what is happening when different amounts of rain fall.

Kaneleneiland is one of the most puristically executed modernist urban plans in the Netherlands. As many other modernist neighborhoods, Kanaleneiland witnessed decades of socioeconomic, cultural and ethnic struggles. The fountain was developped parallel to the investment that wre neccesary to make the neighborhood reslient to climate change. The fountain aims to give expression to these large public investment that are largely reserved for underground infrastructure. This way citizens better understand how climate change will affect their neighborhood, what risks there are and how they can act to keep safe and possibly help reduce climate change.

Client:  Gemeente Utrecht

Partners:  Fluid Futures, Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industry, Alix Chauvet

Year: Built 2023/2024

Construction: Rots Maatwerk