paul moore

The proposal for a fountain in Galway.
Not being an architect i read with great interest the variety of comments on the proposal for the fountain and thought i might add a few comments to clarify the proposal i put forward for the fountain.
1 the causeway into galway bay already exsists – mutton island could be used as a pre-existing causeway.
2 no survey has been carried out to confirm that this would be the best place for the the fountain to be sited
3 the fountain project is merely a proposal – no costing has been done- the idea is simply that – a concept put forward as an artist statement –
5 how much would it cost – well how high do you want it
4 the mechanics and design of the fountain have yet to be determined.

we envisgaed this concept are merely researched had it been done before – yes it has and it has been successfully ran for 20 years in jeddah

how much power would it consume – ( see 5 ) – it owuld also be possible to limit the power consumption by limiting the total time that the fountain was “turned on” – possibly using a half hour cycle – on and off for a limited duration each day say 10.00 till dusk – with occassional night time use with illumination only for special occassions.

We envisaged using computer controls linked to wind speed and direction to limit the mist factor so not to jeopardise pedestrians or local traffic – also siting the fountain far enough into the bay would control this factor .

the balance of capital and running costs of such a project would be balanced against the income it would generate to the buisnesses of the city – inevitably there would be benefit to exsisting local buisnesses – tourism – and generation of new buisnesses directly to the tourist facility
we also envisaged the possiblity of a Gaway bay ? fountain visitor facility — this could possibly be along the liknes of the Cliffs of Moher concept? and linked to a tourist site seeing boatrip around the fountain and the bay –
no such trips currently exist.

Running costs – this could be assessed in greater depth comparing the upkeep and maintenance to that of the Jeddah project.-

Certainly as an art project it would provide a focus to the Bay- an entrance to the proposed harbour and a symbol for Galway and the west of Ireland . – apart from the power required the main resource ( water ) is already there and i presume the environmental impact would be related to the power consumption only.

in summary – im a dentist not an architect – but if there is enough weight of opinion that this is a good idea and is realisable – we will be able to approach the funding agencies with greater effect.

so thank you for your comments so far and if anyone has any further thoughts it would be much appreciated –
my diect email is drpmoore@eircom.net