Mirror Sphere Water Feature for a Private Villa Garden

Set at the edge of a private villa terrace, this mirror-polished stainless sphere rises from a shallow reflecting basin. A thin film of water flows over its crown, adding movement while the polished surface keeps a clean, almost liquid reflection of the garden.

316 stainless protects the finish against the pool-adjacent air, and a compact pump chamber keeps the mechanism out of sight. The piece is a quiet centrepiece — one perfect sphere, a soft water film, and the whole landscape reflected in it.

The brief

The client is a private residence in Beverly Hills, USA, rebuilding its garden around an existing pool. The owner wanted one sculptural element to close the terrace view, not a cluster of planters and ornaments.

The terrace faces south into hard sun and dust, so the sphere had to read clearly by day and hold its own at dusk, sit flush with the paving, and hide its pump. Eight weeks were allowed around the landscape programme.

Design approach

We kept returning to a plain sphere. At 1.8 m Ø it reads as a landmark from the house without blocking the view it reflects, and its crown sits at the sightline of a seated adult.

Two rounds moved the basin depth and crown radius: a flatter crown spreads the water into a thinner sheet that preserves the mirror, and the sphere sits just off the terrace axis.

Material & engineering

316 stainless was chosen over 304 for a reason: pool-adjacent air carries chloramine and splash-borne salt, and molybdenum resists the pitting that would tea-stain a lesser grade within a season.

Two spun hemispheres are welded at the equator over internal ribs that carry load to a hidden base plate. A lift-out tray lets the pump and filter be serviced without moving the sculpture.

Fabrication & finish

The hemispheres were spun, matched and TIG-welded in the workshop, then the seam was ground and polished back until it vanished under raking light. Each grit stage was inspected before the next.

Final checks covered finish hazing and basin level. The pump chamber was wet-tested for 24 hours and the crown flow adjusted until the film stayed even across the full width.

Installation

The piece shipped in two crates and was craned into the garden in a single morning, before the paving was sealed. The base plate was anchored to a cast pad and the pump commissioned with the client’s team.

Outcome & value

The sphere now anchors the terrace: sharp reflections at midday, a soft water film under the evening lights. With a flush basin and recirculated water it needs only a seasonal filter clean and a soft-cloth polish.

For the owner the value is a piece that reads as permanent architecture rather than garden furniture — quiet, low-maintenance, and matched to the grade of steel the site demands.