The Water Mirror offers a meeting place in town to play and cool off, and establishes an intelligent relationship with its historical context.
Water Mirror is a rectangular water surface designed by French architect Michel Corajoud and located in a very particular point of Bordeaux (France) since 2009. This pool of 3,450 square meters of water is strategically situated between the Garonne River and the Place de la Bourse, in a way that it fully reflects the characteristic façades of the 18th century buildings that are located in it. Thus, the emergence of this new urban element generates an interesting visual game between the historic buildings, the square, the river and the new water surface.
Moreover, the mirror effect of the thin film of water can be suddenly interrupted by the appearance of an artificial fog that exceeds two meters. Thus, the combination of liquid and vaporized water offers refreshment to the citizens on the hottest days. Thanks to these social qualities, the Mirror of Water has become a major attraction for entertainment, play and rest, especially during the summer.
“A series of in situ coincidences led us to create a new urban equipment, which is fresh and playful and doesn’t fight (oppose) the Bourse building, but displays a polite attitude in relation with it.”
“This global device: square, water and mist, magnifies the heritage of this part of the docks, and it quickly became […] a place to practice games, a place of entertainment, refreshment, an attraction point. This unexpected event has become an urban phenomenon that goes far beyond our expectations.”
“The elegant historic French idea of the central reflecting pool has been made participatory. The water mirror both forces people backwards to observe the reflection and then bring them together in the play of splashing water and hide-and-go-seek fog.”
