For their third presentation at Alcova, the design platform founded in Italy, Swedish Girls, Mira Bergh and Josefin Zachrisson, proudly share ‘Another Fountain,’ an outdoor centerpiece and public seating installation to be shown at Villa Bagatti Valsecchi.

First shown last May during the SCOPES Stockholm Festival, which celebrates local creatives, ‘Another Fountain’ was designed as an extension of Swedish Girls’ signature stainless steel vernacular, ‘Public Space with Private Intentions.’ The fountain is a contemporary reinterpretation of its symbolism and function within architecture, landscape, and public environments.

‘Another Fountain’ is an exploration into the spectrum of human behavior and connection in any context, private and public spaces, outdoors and indoors, day and night. International cultures and countries even have unique expectations and attitudes when it comes to gatherings. The Fountain’s creation was also, in part, inspired by Swedish Girls’ respective experiences to Sweden’s restrictive policies of public conduct in parks and spaces. (For context, it wasn’t until 2023, Sweden’s rules of public conduct encouraged restraint in them. Dancing and music were all prohibited. And, very few benches were appointed to public parks.)

In contrast, ‘Another Fountain’ invites the public to gather, climb to the top to dance, and explore. It can be situated indoors and out. “The most intriguing part of working within public space formats is [being able] to let go of control,” says Josefin Zachrisson, co-founder of Swedish Girls. “Seeing ‘Another Fountain’ in the middle of a crowd with people dancing on top or children running around, climbing and exploring, is what our practice is all about for us.”

Today, Swedish Girls nod to the fountain’s original purpose and history*. While fountains first played a utilitarian role supplying towns and cities with water, their popular association formed as a decorative, mythical object when Francesco Colonna, an Italian Dominican priest, published Dream of Poliphilus in 1499. ‘Another Fountain’ looks to celebrate a fountain’s meaning during the Renaissance period especially. Then, fountains were designed beyond function; to inspire play, theater, music, and offer respite within the garden. “‘Another Fountain’ is for everyone, everywhere,” says Swedish Girls.

In its visual language, ‘Another Fountain’ is also a figurative play. The structure is composed of intricately draped stainless-steel rods, the duo’s trademark material language, and engineered in vertical symmetries to illustrate a jetting fountain. Its architecture playfully nods to the fountain’s allegory.

For Swedish Girls, ‘Another Fountain’ marks a larger and shared artistic exploration in international cultures, their landscape architecture and public spaces, and how they can be reclaimed and interpreted.