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Place de la Bourse - Bordeaux - France
The beauty of Place de la Bourse becomes dreamlike when it is reflected in “le miroir d’eau”, the reflecting pool. This 130 meter long and 42 meter wide set of granite slabs is the largest reflecting pool in the world. Conceived by the landscape architect Michel Corajoud, and developed by the fountain expert J. M. Llorca, it was, with “le jardin des lumières” (the garden of lights) and the skate park, one of the main elements of Bordeaux‘s quayside recent redevelopment. “Le miroir d’eau” works according to a specific cycle. When the slabs are are almost dry, it looks like a huge slate. A few minutes later, the fountain mecanism produces plumes of mist, creating a thick fog turning the quay in a fairyland. When the fog disappears, the 3 450 square metres of granite are covered with 2 centimeters of a cristal clear water, becoming a slightly undulating twin of “Place de la Bourse”. According to J. M. Llorca, the water mirror was inspired by the regular flooding of Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. This spectacular fountain has some noteworthy technical features:
• the sides of the slate are slightly more hollow than its center in order to avoid waves.
• the water that does not evaporate is collected and processed by an impressive device buried under the slabs, to ensure hygiene and economy.
• the mecanism is shut down during winter, to avoid the damage caused by the frost.
Place de la Bourse - Bordeaux - France
The beauty of Place de la Bourse becomes dreamlike when it is reflected in “le miroir d’eau”, the reflecting pool. This 130 meter long and 42 meter wide set of granite slabs is the largest reflecting pool in the world. Conceived by the landscape architect Michel Corajoud, and developed by the fountain expert J. M. Llorca, it was, with “le jardin des lumières” (the garden of lights) and the skate park, one of the main elements of Bordeaux‘s quayside recent redevelopment. “Le miroir d’eau” works according to a specific cycle. When the slabs are are almost dry, it looks like a huge slate. A few minutes later, the fountain mecanism produces plumes of mist, creating a thick fog turning the quay in a fairyland. When the fog disappears, the 3 450 square metres of granite are covered with 2 centimeters of a cristal clear water, becoming a slightly undulating twin of “Place de la Bourse”. According to J. M. Llorca, the water mirror was inspired by the regular flooding of Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. This spectacular fountain has some noteworthy technical features:
• the sides of the slate are slightly more hollow than its center in order to avoid waves.
• the water that does not evaporate is collected and processed by an impressive device buried under the slabs, to ensure hygiene and economy.
• the mecanism is shut down during winter, to avoid the damage caused by the frost.