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11th August 2011

Centro Servizi Vulcano Buono Naples - Italy

Apparently the water has little to do with a volcano, but with Watercube anything can happen. That’s what happens in the Vulcano Buono multifunctional complex in Nola, a project of the RPBW study (Renzo Piano Building Workshop) that takes its inspiration from the nearby Vesuvius. Inside the centre of the crater obtained at the centre of the imposing structure in the midpoint of the central square, a fountain was placed which has two main configurations.

In the dry version of the inner square, the water features and light effects simulate the eruption of the volcano, with smoke generated by a fog effect that is coloured at night by means of LED lights – and the lapilli formed by interactive jets controlled by a specially-designed software.

In the flooded version, obtained by maintaining the exhaust ducts of the nozzle closed via motorized valves, you get a hard reflecting water of the maximum thickness of 2 cm. In this configuration, operating with low power, you can generate low foam columns evocative of the thermal springs.