Aluminum Company of America, Client Eckbo, Garrett, Landscape Architect
Date Created and/or Issued
1952-1966
Publication Information
Environmental Design Archives, 230 Wurster Hall #1820 , University of California , Berkeley, California 94720-1820 Published in: Wonderland Park, Los Angeles, Calif
Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. University of California Regents All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from materials in the collection should be discussed with the Curator. 230 Wurster Hall #1820 , University of California , Berkeley, California 94720-1820
Description
In 1956, the Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA) asked Eckbo to create a garden containing large amounts of aluminum, for the company's publicity purposes. Aluminum had been widely used during the war years as a component in airplane manufacture, but ALCOA was interested in promoting the metal's peacetime use as well. Eckbo designed a garden for his own family's house using large quantities of the material in screens, in trellises, in sunbreaks, and most spectacularly in a centerpiece fountain recalling the shape of a flower. ALCOA's advertising agency used photographs of the garden in promotional materials for at least five years. ALCOA released a number of publicity statements along with professional photographs of the garden. The following paragraph describes the aluminum fountain: "ELEMENTS OF GARRETT ECKBO'S FORECAST GARDEN, designed for Aluminum Company of America's FORECAST collection. Shown is the abstract aluminum fountain, appearing much like a huge flower, located near the center of the garden. Fabricated from quarter-inch aluminum plate, the fountain is about 3 1/2 feet high at its highest point, and approximately 6 feet wide at its broadest point. It is finished in olive green baked enamel. The water outlets are five swaged (tapered) aluminum tubes, with a natural anodic finish, which rise from the center of the fountain-like flower stamens. Water overflows into the curved concrete basin, in which rugged rock provides contrast with the precise triangular pattern of the fountain."
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
