12 great modern fountains

The point of this list was to find interesting fountain designs that are truly modern, something that is rare, since fountains are luxurious, flowing and decorative by nature.

For example Rome’s Trevi fountain may be a masterpiece, but trying to recreate classical splendor today always looks awful and kitsch. The horrid water display at the Vegas Bellagio is a case in point, opulence without craft. In fairness, its designers, WET design have produced many other much more interesting designs which balance fun with restraint.

Here are some of our favorite designs, from computer controlled fountains such as the wonderful animated version at Detroit Airport to Chicago’s celebrated screen based Crown fountain.