5616 x 3744 px | 47,5 x 31,7 cm | 18,7 x 12,5 inches | 300dpi
Data acquisizione:
9 luglio 2013
Ubicazione:
Kendall Square - Cambridge, MA
Altre informazioni:
In the Kendall Square section of Cambridge, there is a plaza that is formed from angular intersection of Broadway and Main Street. In this plaza is a striking fountain, named Galaxy: Earth Sphere. This fountain is roughly 20 feet in diameter and is made likely of stainless steel or aluminum. The central feature of the fountain is a bumpy sphere that has features that, with a little imagination, could be continents and mountains, and flat areas that could be seas or oceans. The sphere is surrounded by two iron or steel pipes at about calf level. The outer one has about 20 nozzles that send streams of water to shower the sphere in all directions. The nearer pipe ring is supposed to let out steam to bath the sphere in mist. Outside of these rings are twelve small spheres in a perfect arrangement around the central sphere, each with a pattern of holes. Around them, at cardinal points are metal plates with fictional symbols in place. There is a plaque nearby, toward the nearest subway station exit, under some bushes. The fountain was put in place in December 1989. The Halvorson Company, Inc. was the landscape designer/architect of the fountain. The engineering company was Fay, Spofford, and Thorndike. The artists came from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Center for Advanced Visual Studies. In Cambridge’s Kendall Square, all the world’s a stage thanks to the recently refurbished sculpture and fountain called “Galaxy: Earth Sphere, ” a stunning display of functional public art in the plaza where Broadway and Main Street intersect. Originally built in 1989 by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor and artist Joe Davis, the science-inspired sculpture was back in service this past July after a dry, 18-month hiatus. Yep, the fountain wasn’t functioning for more than one year after a torrential rainstorm knocked out the underground mechanical system that fueled the 20 streams of water intersecting at the base of the large.
