Almost 50 years ago, AT&T constructed their headquarters on 140 acres in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. This corporate base came to occupy 2.7 million square feet of office space surrounded by superbly designed landscaping that hosted world-class sculpture as well as a private helipad.

In 1992, the corporation’s art consultant approached Zimmerman to create a “gathering place” for a half-acre courtyard set within the newly designed conference center. The director of the new center explained that visitors would be attending screenings or lectures in the multiple lecture halls that surrounded the courtyard on three sides. (A cafeteria is on the fourth side.) She was asked to create an outdoor seating area/fountain for the visitors to use and enjoy between meetings and lectures.

Zimmerman’s 30-foot-diameter project is set off center in the enclosed garden, which was landscaped by others. It has various seating options to accommodate both multiple groups of people or a solitary person taking a break from the conference center activities. There is seating at ground level around the piece near the fountain edge and upper-level seating on the inside and outside edges of the circular area.

The fountain is constructed of large granite boulders—the center block weighs 34 tons—cut to fit together. The water flow is strong and persistent to create an aural surround.


COMPLETED 1994
LOCATION
AT&T Headquaters & Conference Center, Basking Ridge, NJ
SITE DESCRIPTION
30 foot diameter water feature including multilevel seating, waterfall and pool
PRIMARY MATERIALS
Granite, water
SPONSOR
AT&T Corporation
CONSULTANTS
Stone supply fabrication: Cold Spring Granite Company
Fountain engineer: Dr. Gerald Palevsky