10 Beautiful Examples of Reflecting Pools Reshaping Architecture
The allure of reflecting pools in landscape design dates back to ancient Persian gardens, wherein water features were a key element of a well-balanced environment. The inherent serenity of water, especially when held in a pool specially designed to ensure a calm, glass-like surface, adds a pensive mood to an outdoor space, sometimes inspiring the mental reflection of visitors. There can be an inherent vanity in mirroring surfaces (see the Greek myth of Narcissus), but with architecture built on a scale grand enough to warrant a reflecting pool, the double image of the structure and its surroundings feels justified by the inclusion of such a simple, essential feature as water. Reflecting pools can be spotted at some of the most famous sites around the world, like the ones surrounding I. M. Pei’s glass pyramid at the Louvre, the vast pool at the Taj Mahal, or the water that surrounds the tomb of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King in Atlanta Georgia.