Four Uses of Water: Mirror, Channel, Sound, Cooling

Four uses of water in a courtyard: mirror, channel, sound, and cooling. A still pond reflects the building as a complete second facade; a narrow channel flows along an axis, guiding the gaze; a small jet of water produces a continuous sound, masking outside noise; a shallow water surface evaporates to cool the air when hot wind passes. These four uses can coexist but each has its place. Avoid: making all water into one large pond; having water flow so strong it becomes noise; having water surface so deep that reflections are unclear; placing water features randomly, unrelated to the axis.

Translated from Chinese by AI.

一個庭院裡的四處水。一池靜水把建築倒映成完整的第二個立面;一條細窄的水渠沿軸線流動引導視線;一股小水柱發出持續的聲音蓋過外面的嘈雜;一片淺水面在熱風經過時蒸發降溫。四種用法可以並存但各有位置。避免:把水全部做成一個大水池、水流強到變成噪音、水面深到看不出倒影、讓水景與軸線無關隨意擺放。