Valeria Di Leone

Department: Social Design

Sorgente

Offering someone something to drink is a traditional sign of hospitality. But what if it’s not a person doing the offering, but a place? This is what Valeria di Leone explores with ‘Sorgente’. By adding water fountains to public space, events or festivals, the city itself can become a source of communal kindness and courtesy.
The fountain revalues the urban environment; an architectural addition that serves all indiscriminately. In an age dominated by individual desires, it can bring us together around a single spot. There, we share the same essential act, bending over to drink. The repeated movement among so many different people forms a poetic visual; a universal response to this pure gesture of welcome. United in our thirst, the fountain has the power to draw us in and stimulate social cohesion. Could water fountains be the beginning of a larger hospitality movement in the city?