Fountain of Wealth

The Fountain of Wealth (Malay: Air Pancut Kekayaan, Chinese: 财富之泉) is listed by the Guinness Book of Records in 1998 as the largest fountain in the world.^[1] It is located in one of Singapore's largest shopping malls, Suntec City.

The Fountain of Wealth at Suntec City, Singapore

Fountain of Wealth as seen from restaurants surrounding its base

During certain periods of the day, the fountain is turned off and visitors are invited to walk around a mini fountain at the centre of the fountain's base, three times for good luck.^[2] At night, the fountain is the setting for laser performances, as well as live song and laser message dedications between 8 pm to 9 pm daily.^[3] It is situated in such a way the fountain is the hub of the shopping mall.

Location

The base of the fountain is located underground, and on its base perimeter lies the main basement restaurant area of Suntec City. The circular ring top of the fountain is visible at ground level.

Design

The Fountain of Wealth was constructed in 1995, together with the main Suntec City development. The name was derived according to Chinese geomancers, where the inward flow of water symbolize the symbol of wealth and life are pouring in, and the design of the bronze ring was based on Hindu Mandala, which represents unification and equality. The fountain earned the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's Largest Fountain in 1998.^[2][4]

Structure

Fountain of Wealth and towers of Suntec City that were designed to resemble fingers of a hand

The fountain is made of silicon bronze, and consists of a circular ring with a circumference of 66 meters supported on four large slanted columns. It occupies an area of 1683.07 square metres,^[5] with a height of 13.8m.^[6] The sand-cast silicon bronze, including all formwork and patternmaking, was designed, manufactured, and installed by DCG Design and Meridian Projects (from Melbourne Australia) in 1995.

In the design plan of Suntec City, where the structure is meant to resemble the human hand, the five tower blocks represent the fingers and thumb of a left hand emerging from the ground. Then, the Fountain of Wealth is intended to form a gold ring in the center of the palm of the hand.^[7]

Apart from the jets of water cascading down from the ring, the center of the fountain also boasts a medium-sized water screen, used for the nightly laser shows, as well as a large jet of water which is occasionally turned on, and spouts higher than the top of the ring.

The fountain was upgraded by OASE Living Water and involved the removal of the water screen, projectors, and lasers from the fountain. The path to the center of the fountain was also relocated and rebuilt. Laminar Jets (OASE Jumping Jet Rainbow Star) are installed in one ring at the edges of the fountain, while Varionaut pumps drive water jets circling around the center fountain, which has received new LED light fixtures.

Incidents

In February 2003, a crane that was lowering a car, for a publicity event, tipped over and damaged the Fountain of Wealth.^[8]

On 13 July 2024 at about 12:15am, a car crashed downwards into the fountain. The driver, conscious, was taken to hospital and is currently investigated for reckless driving. Subsequently, the fountain was temporarily closed for maintenance from July 5 to 25.^[8]

In popular culture

• When The Amazing Race 3, a reality television show, came to Singapore in 2002, contestants collected a clue at the fountain.
  • Similarly, contestants of The Amazing Race Asia 1 also went to the fountain for a clue.
• In the Indian superhero film, Krrish, when Krrish used it as an observation point to locate the position of his Nemesis's helicopter that he is chasing.
• Magician, Cyril Takayama, performed some tricks on the fountain on the first episode of "Cyril : Simply Magic", which was broadcast on AXN Asia, and MediaCorp Channel 5.

See also

• Suntec Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre