“Ahh-some!” Challenge Fountain, Shanghai Expo, China. (Image courtesy of Aquatic Design Engineering)
a visceral connection with the audience. “The crowd must feel something together as part of the journey.” For W. A. Richardson Builders in Las Vegas, staying on
top of the industry has meant not only staying on top of technology but also envisioning clever ways to integrate it into their designs, “... so that we can deliver something that the guest has not seen or experienced, for as low a cost as possible,” according to Kristich. So much so in fact that “JK” as he is known, predicts: “Finding creative ways to introduce new technology into the hospitality industry will be the key to success for all design and architecture firms in the future.” His advice to park managers: “Find the very best design firm to work with and don’t settle for anything that has been done before.” ADE’s Josh Martin seconds that motion with this advice:
“Be creative! Don’t just copy the water features that are out there now. Lots of people have built fountains that shoot water high so try instead to think of creative ways of using light, sound, automation and video to create an interactive water feature that allows the viewers to engage in the experience.” Martin also speaks from experience when he talks about
the newest technological hurdle companies like his are facing – doing it cleaner and greener. As he points out: “Water features inherently haven’t been sustainable. When
Image courtesy of Laservision
a nozzle shoots water 30 metres into the air, some of it evaporates during its descent back to the pond and in the past we would be forced to add new water back into the feature. By using new engineering techniques we are converting rainwater, HVAC run off and other types of gray water from a site into potable water feature water. We are now reusing and capturing water that in the past was lost to the site.” ADE is not alone. Aquatique’s clientele are increasingly
ecologically-minded too and Formhals says this has prompted the company to invest in technologies that save both energy and the environment. Even the old fashioned fireworks show is becoming more eco-friendly. McCloskey at Laservision notes that when a show is adjacent to environmentally-sensitive surfaces - such as Marina Bay Sands resort - they can always use debriless pyrotechnics which are totally free of fallout. It’s yet another complication in an already complicated business. No surprise then that Carl Rijsbrack of Belgian equipment manufacturer Barco advises anyone shopping for a show to look for a partner who offers a comprehensive service, “someone who can give them an incorporated design including indoor as well as outdoor products, projection, LED as well as lighting, and also the control systems for these products,” he says. That’s advice worth taking since no-one in the
industry, no matter how tech-savvy, thinks Jeff Wade’s “technologies of illusion” are anywhere near reaching their limits. Matthias Lohr, owner of Germany’s aqua-in-motion. com, reflects popular opinion when he suggests that “with technology constantly and rapidly re-inventing itself, the possibilities for creating shows are not nearly maxed out and won´t be for a very long time.” Ahhsome!
Image courtesy of Everland 48 InterPark September–October 2011
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