The construction of Splash Spots faced a number of unique challenges. Not only did our hydrant cap need to fit on a New York City hydrant, it needed to withstand and control the intense water pressure released. On top of that, the angle of NYC hydrants is not perfectly perpendicular to the road; it’s more of a 45-degree angle. That means that if our spray cap were to face the same direction as the hydrant, it would likely spray the sidewalk and pedestrians, a less than ideal outcome. Finally, we knew that the hydrant cap needed to conserve water while bringing joy to the community. Ultimately, it had to be fun. Keeping all those challenges in mind, our team set out to solve this engineering puzzle by creating Splash Spots, a whimsical but durable hydrant cap that sprays in a safe direction while conserving water.

Splash Spots are four distinct hydrant caps that bring four unique water experiences to the five boroughs. Each one is designed to bring whimsy and joy to New York City while conserving 50% more water than a standard spray cap. “Sunshine” spreads rays of water in all directions. “Blossom” releases a cloud of refreshing water droplets. “Jump Rope” creates a whirling “rope” of water for kids to leap over. “Pinwheel” unleashes a stunning spray of three rotating streams.

Thanks to their multi-directional design, the spray of each Splash Spot can be directed towards safe play spaces, away from pedestrians and local businesses. To conserve even more water, each device has an on/off function that communities can use when they’re done for the day. All made from CNC-machined metal, each Splash Spot is engineered for optimal durability and safety, helping to ensure that communities can use them for years to come.

Cities everywhere are facing pressures that threaten their social fabric. Street Lab is pioneering new kinds of services that can engage multiple neighborhoods and bring about immediate, positive changes that make communities feel valued and connected to the city at large. For this project, the goal was to improve the urban environment and bring New Yorkers together in a more sustainable way.

Street Lab operates in 393 public spaces across NYC, to make those spaces more welcoming and foster a sense of community, especially for families with children. Our target audience for Splash Spots are low-/middle-income families with young children who might not have easy or available access to public pools or recreation centers in the sweltering heat of the summer. We created Splash Spots to conserve water and generate excitement with our audience while bringing neighborhoods together.

This past summer, Splash Spots launched as part of Street Lab’s series of programming for children. Four Splash Spots were produced for this series. Their durable and portable design ensures that they could be used and reused for years of events.

Our launch with Street Labs as well as coverage in major news outlets, such as The New York Times, caught the attention of NYC Environmental Protection, NYC Parks Department and the Fire Department of New York. We’re currently working with all three departments to broaden the scale and scope of the campaign.

Splash Spots debuted at a series of NYC children’s programming events this summer, in partnership with Street Lab, an organization that improves the urban environment with neighborhood programming. Ultimately, our goal is to have a Splash Spot on all the 300+ fire hydrants opened by the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) every summer.

To date, Splash Spots has received tremendous attention, being featured in everything from The New York Times to DesignBoom to Fast Company. The campaign earned 161 million impressions with $0 media spend. Most importantly, we’re currently working with NYC Environmental Protection, NYC Parks Department and FDNY to install them across New York, potentially saving over 1,000,000 gallons of water per summer.