Building Materials

Standing beside the cascading waters of the Fresno Federal Courthouse fountain, it is hard to imagine a more fitting focal point for the surrounding scenery.

In 2003, artists Anna Valentina Murch and Doug Hollis were called upon to enhance the atmosphere of the Fresno Courthouse by creating a landscape design that would compliment the building’s architecture and draw upon its natural surroundings. To do so, the duo chose Academy Black® facing and boulders to create a fountain of strength and beauty.

The goal was to achieve an integrated design where people were not sure where the architecture stopped and the landscape design started.

Coldspring offered a turn-key operation for the stone—providing the boulders and stones, as well as coordinating installation. The artists took time to visit the quarry, hand select each stone, and decided how each piece would be incorporated into the design