It’s not unusual to see exposed pipes in commercial buildings, but usually, they are painted in ways to minimize their appearance. Not so at Navy Pier in Chicago.
Their pipes have become billboards to promote the value of water with many of them featuring factoids or quotes relating to the substance. Examples include:
- There is the same amount of water on Earth as there was when the Earth was created
- The first water pipes in the U.S. were made from hollowed logs
- “If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.” Loren Eisley
- Water is the regulator of both the planet and your body’s temperature
- It takes 120 gallons of water to produce one egg
- Water is the only mineral that is found naturally on Earth in three forms: liquid, gas, solid
- Groundwater can take a human lifetime just to traverse a mile
- “A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.” Henry David Thoreau
- Most of the Earth’s surface water is permanently frozen or salty
It took some effort to develop and place all these sayings as they were on most groupings of pipes throughout the large complex, but it added to the ambiance far more than plain pipes would have done.
Think about what you can do to capitalize on the quirks of your space and use it to make it uniquely yours.
