September 23, 2020 – Thousand Palms, California: Koolfog Inc. is thrilled to announce that Dilworth Park Project has been honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) with its inaugural Award of Excellence in Urban Design 2020. The ASLA website, describes this award as recognizing “projects built or currently under construction that activate networks of spaces that mediate between social equity, economic viability, infrastructure, environmental stewardship, and beautiful place-making in the public and private realm.”
Koolfog teamed with Studio Echelman, Center City District, Olin Studio, Urban Engineers, CMS Collaborative, Arup Lighting, and 1212 Studio to create Dilworth Park featured fountain, Pulse, to life. Echelman’s website explains, “Pulse utilizes a high-pressure misting system … that creates an ultra-fine, fog-like, cool mist that quickly evaporates. The ephemeral mist is made of filtered, softened water onto which lighting is projected so it is completely safe for children to play in. Described by the artist as “a living X-ray of the city’s circulatory system,” the vibrantly colored mist curtains move across the fountain and mirror the footprint of the trains below, evoking the steam rising from the city’s first water pumping station that was located on the site at the beginning of the 19th century, as well as the steam from the trains at the Pennsylvania Railroad Station that were across the street.”
Aptly named Pulse, artist Janet Echelman’s exhibit was inspired by the history of the location and its association with water and transportation. Surrounded by a beautiful lawn area, grove seating, and an adjacent café, the 11,600 square foot fountain features mist and colored lighting to represent the city’s transportation system and express its rhythm. Pulse is a multi-sensory experience that showcases an interactive scrim fountain programmed to release clouds of fog in a programmed sequence that coordinates with the site’s transit lines. Using a series of Koolfog high-pressure fog systems to deliver atomized water particles and forming it within a linear air curtain, the fog effect releases approximately three feet of mist in a pattern that moves along a grated pathway illuminating train arrivals and departures.
Koolfog began working on Pulse as a feature for Dilworth Park in October of 2012. Koolfog President, Bryan Roe reflects, “It was extremely important for our team to maintain the authenticity of the artist’s vision while designing a practical solution for use in a public setting. Working with a conceptual design, our engineers developed a small-scale prototype that was tested using the fog system, air curtain, and baffles. These were eventually sized to a larger-scale sectional mockup replicating the actual trench with grating that was representative of the city’s railway station intersection lines. The success of our prototype and testing phase produced technical specifications and drawings for implementation and construction purposes.” As Pulse became a reality, Koolfog was commissioned for services on-site in collaboration with the greater Pulse development team to ensure proper integration and fine-tune the fog effects. Pulse was officially unveiled in September 2018.
About Koolfog, Inc.
For over 30 years Koolfog Inc. has designed, developed, and manufactured fog solutions for cooling, humidification, dust control, water features, and special effects. Koolfog is a world leader in delivering the best in quality high-pressure fog systems that balance performance and aesthetics while seamlessly integrating into theme parks, restaurants, resort hotels, industrial facilities, wineries, greenhouse crops, landscapes, and architectural settings.
