My colleague shared this project with me while we were researching water features for one of our projects. It is called the miroir d’eau (water mirror) and it’s located in Bordeaux, France.

Supposedly, it is the largest of its kind in the world, or at least that was the case when it was completed back in 2006.

As a design concept, it couldn’t be simpler. It consists of a 2cm deep layer of water that is meant to reflect its surroundings. In addition, there are small jets that periodically mist water, and so it also serves as an active splash pad in the summer months.

Sometimes, or maybe oftentimes, the best ideas are the simplest ones. And in this case, it feels like they really nailed it. The water mirror lets the surrounding architecture do the talking.

The above video is in French, but even if you don’t understand what they’re saying, it will give you some good visuals of the water mirror. It should also convince you that it has helped to create a highly successful public space.