With the official opening in exactly one month, the finishing touches are being put in place at the new Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences. Today's Photo of the Day features an image of the ornate cobblestone tiling being installed at the hotel’s entrance; and here we have the first images of the arrival of the elaborate fountain that will sit in the middle of the square.

Fountain arrives at the Four Seasons, image courtesy of Menkes

Unloading of the fountain at the Four Seasons, image by Filip

The Claude Cormier-designed fountain complements the "rug" it sits upon, however it will rise in stark contrast to the distinctly contemporary towers above. This juxtaposition has unsurprisingly ruffled a few feathers; stark modernists claim it degrades architectsAlliance’s design, while others dislike the seemingly empty historic reference.

Fountain rendering and construction image, image from Claude Cormier Architects

While initially off-setting, the design is in fact well thought out in terms of its context and references; the fountain and cobblestone are meant to mediate the new Four Seasons with its eastern neighbour, the historic Yorkville Fire Hall #10. The bright red fountain pulls its colour from the Fire Hall’s red doors and decorative brick while the design references the various eclectic Victorian-era architectural styles that used to dominate the neighbourhood. The oversizing of these stylistic elements was according to Claude Cormier Architects done so in order to engage those on the ground as well as those looking down from the skyscraping tower above.

Rendering of Yorkville Avenue north side with fountain, rose garden and fire hall, image from Claude Cormier Architects

We’ll be keeping an eye out for more photos as the fountain is assembled throughout the week; to get the latest updates check out the project thread, or follow us on twitter. For complete project renderings, head over to the associated dataBase listing below.