Light and air
Reflecting pool
patio garden plaza memorial public building
A shallow, still sheet of water that reflects the sky and the architecture.
What it solves
It brings calm, reflections of light and some humidity to the air of courtyards and gardens. In the humid tropics it is worth more for light and landscape than for cooling.
Today
Keep the water moving slowly or recirculated to avoid mosquitoes and algae. Use it to collect rain and place it where it reflects light into shaded verandas.
Common mistake
Leaving water stagnant without recirculation, which breeds mosquitoes and gets dirty.
Tomorrow
With aquatic plants, water that does not stagnate and no chemicals, the reflecting pool attracts dragonflies, frogs and birds. It can also work as a rain reservoir that waters the garden.
Where it comes from
- 1Persian garden Iran, since the Achaemenid era
Channels and pools divide the garden into four parts and humidify the air of the courtyards. - 2Nasrid Alhambra, Granada, 14th century
The Court of the Myrtles has a pool about 34 meters long whose fountains enter without rippling the water. - 3Mughal garden India, Mughal Empire
It brought the Persian garden to India with running water, shade and pools like those of the Taj Mahal.
Masters
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion, Barcelona, Spain, 1929
He places a large outdoor pool and another in an inner courtyard that reflect the stone walls and the sky. He teaches that a sheet of still water doubles the architecture and calms the space. - Luis Barragán Cuadra San Cristóbal, Mexico City, Mexico, 1967
He places at the center of the complex a gently sloping pool where horses drink in front of intensely colored walls. He shows how still water becomes the heart of a courtyard in a warm climate.
Appears in the routes
See also
Also in Light and air
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.