Restoration of the historic fountain
The cattle trough, also known as Ross Fountain, is a two-story building which was built from 1850 to 1852 on the initiative of Frederick William IV. The historic fountain is located north of Sanssouci Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The terrace and its cascading fountain is located on top of a massive vaulted structure of red brick with an attached semi-circular water basin to the south.
The cascading three shell fountain is centrally positioned on the open terrace and accessed by stairways on each side of the water basin. The materials consist of natural stone blocks for the stairs and the surface of the terrace is made up of yellow and red brick in a herringbone pattern.
Due to the poor condition of the fountain and terrace surfaces, restoration was required. All of the necessary steps including extensive waterproofing, restoration of brickwork and natural stone, structural strengthening and preservation measures were handled inside a tight schedule during the planning and construction phase. The high perservation standards required by the world heritage site were brought together with the necessary technical requirements in order to realize a high quality result.
