& # 39; Hideous & # 39; and 'Naff': Are the new London fountains too ugly? | towns

Last week, the locations of 50 new public fountains for drinking water in London were announced. This project, a joint venture between Thames Water and the mayor of London, which will install 100 in total, aims to encourage people to use refillable water bottles and reduce the consumption of single-use plastics.

But though the initiative has been well received by many, the design of the fountains – a white base surmounted by a large drop of blue water – has been criticized by social media.

The structures have been designed to be easily identifiable and able to withstand all weather. But a Twitter user called them "naff", another "hideous" – and a historian and animator Tom Dyckhoff tweeted: "Good idea, but these are UGLIEST things never made by humans."

Overwhelming comparisons were made with elegant water fountains adorned with the Victorian era:

However, while historic fountains seem impressive, their restoration poses practical problems, said Jon Burke, a member of the London Borough of Hackney's energy, waste, transportation and public space cabinet. he responded"Under the new Hackney Water Fountain Program, we are releasing historic fountains, but their repair (let alone their design) is three times more expensive than a new one; those of the Victorian era are often not adapted to disability; and we lost £ 130m a year from the government … "

Several years ago, a design challenge in London required six architectural offices to offer new fountains. An architect tweeted "Five years ago, I participated in a competition to design new fountains for London. Some were more successful than others, but all were better than that. "

Meanwhile, people have shared photos on Twitter of drinking fountains in other cities:

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