The City of Davenport, Iowa, and the Downtown Davenport Partnership (DDP) steered the re-design of an aging urban pocket park into a community gathering place to host celebrations, concerts, and special events. The reimagined Kaiserslautern Square (also known as K Square) has been planned as a neighborhood outdoor recreation area to draw people, especially families, into the heart of downtown and to enhance the patronage of surrounding local businesses.

K Square, named after Davenport’s Sister City, Kaiserslautern, Germany, shares similar attributes in demographics, economics, and geography. The City of Davenport shares various exchanges, including professional, youth, and faith base exchanges, cultural exhibits, and the creation of Christkindlmarkt, resembling a traditional German-style outdoor holiday market. The renovation of Kaiserslautern Square is another City of Davenport & DDP community development initiative that pays homage to their sister city. In a nod to Kaiserslautern’s abundance of forest and water, a distinctive fountain has been featured as a focal point for the revived park in Davenport, Iowa and is said to be the first such fog feature in the area.

Fog Effect Challenges

Koolfog teamed with Crystal Fountains to renovate an existing water feature by creating a unique interactive fog fountain with a water-conscious perspective. In collaboration with Crystal Fountains, Koolfog co-developed a Right Light Fog Jet insert for their Ring Light fixtures. Bryan Roe, President of Koolfog elaborates, “As with most projects, we had to work within a particular budget to create a workable solution. Our team adapted an integrated approach to fog effects and lighting to provide an easy retrofit of the existing space. Thus, the design positioned the fog feature as a showcase centerpiece, highlighting its’ interactive nature as plumes of dry fog are sequenced with bright lights in a playful rotation across the fountain’s grid”.

Zach Peterson, PLA, ASLA Landscape Design Architect, Department of Public Works- Capital Planning & Implementation for the City of Davenport has been pleased with the project.

“The fog feature was an instant hit with the kids! The nighttime aspect of the project looks great! If I could change anything it would be the appearance of the daytime operation. Without the lighting, the impact of the fog during the day is substantially reduced.”

Kaiserslautern Square, Photo Courtesy of City of Davenport

Update:
The City of Davenport, along with RDG Planning & Design, who assisted with initial construction documentation, including detail, lighting and stormwater design based upon the City’s initial project concept, received an ASLA Iowa Chapter 2022 Merit Award for Excellence in Landscape Design for Kaiserslautern Square.

Koolfog is currently working with Crystal Fountains to refine the fountain’s programming to allow for a greater fog effect build-up during the daylight hours when fog dissipates more readily.

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Michelle Roe

From ‘A’ for movie star Ashley Judd to ‘Z’ for fashion designer Zang Toi, Michelle Arzino Roe has covered entertainment, fashion, food, and travel with her written words having graced the pages of Palm Springs Life Magazine, Desert Publication’s 90 Days of Summer, Empire Polo Lifestyle Magazine, the book Encountering Women, as well as various California media outlets. Her articles for Koolfog focus on lifestyle benefitsof Koolfog mist and fog systems as well as the impact this technology has on various industries and applications.