Fountains of Mercy

Commissioned by Dubai Municipality, in alignment with the principles of the Dubai Civility Committee, and supported by a philanthropist, the ongoing initiative called ‘Fountain of Mercy’ focuses on providing accessible water sources for birds across dense urban environments. Announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, this project introduces a new approach to integrating care, generosity, and ecological responsibility into Dubai’s public spaces.

The initiative was designed and curated by E+A Studio, with engineering and fabrication carried out in collaboration with Metalfabrik. Conceived as a quiet yet meaningful urban intervention, the fountains embed ecological support directly into the everyday fabric of the city.

Cities often underestimate how deeply nature shapes our mental clarity, emotional regulation, and sense of belonging. In the rush to optimise efficiency, density, and speed, something fundamental is often forgotten: cities are not closed systems. They are living environments, shaped as much by invisible relationships as by visible structures. When these relationships are disrupted, the consequences unfold quietly, yet profoundly.

As urban environments densify, natural ground cover gives way to hard surfaces, and access to water, shelter, and resting spaces for birds and small species becomes increasingly scarce. Each loss may seem minor in isolation, yet together they erode the delicate systems that allow life to coexist within the city. Migration routes shift, behaviours are altered, and food chains weaken, gradually thinning the ecological presence that once animated public space.

Over time, cities grow quieter in ways that are difficult to quantify but easy to feel. Birds are often among the first to disappear when conditions become inhospitable, and with them goes a layer of life that subtly informs how we experience our surroundings. Cities without these everyday ecological cues tend to feel harsher, more mechanical, and less legible – even when residents cannot easily articulate why. “Preserving biodiversity is inseparable from preserving the quality of human experience,” says Evgeniia Molchanova, founder of E+A Studio. “They are not separate concerns, but part of the same living system.”

Fountains of Mercy responds to this absence not through spectacle, but through presence. By reintroducing access to water within dense urban environments, the initiative allows life to return visibly and meaningfully to the city. The movement of birds, the sound of wings, and the rhythm of daily visits introduce a layer of sensory information often missing from highly engineered urban spaces. Unlike signage or traffic, these cues do not demand attention; instead, they offer subtle reassurance to the nervous system – signals of continuity, balance, and care.

Designed as a self-sustaining ecological intervention, Fountains of Mercy is fully solar-powered and operates independently within the public space. Its autonomy reinforces resilience, allowing the fountain to exist without reliance on complex infrastructure or energy consumption. Constructed from Corten steel, the structure is designed to weather naturally over time, developing a patina that reflects its environment and allows it to age alongside the city rather than resist it.

The design was informed by the behaviour and scale of local bird species in Dubai. Proportions, access points, and placement were carefully calibrated to support natural patterns of use while remaining unobtrusive within daily urban life. At its core, Fountains of Mercy reflects a belief that cities must evolve beyond serving human needs alone. In a time when urban development prioritises optimisation, the project introduces a different value system – one that recognises interdependence.