The man who designed and built the fountain was Julien Hébert, a Quebec artist born in 1917. He studied sculpture at the École des Beaux-Arts de Montreal, and would later study in Paris under Ossip Zadkine. Some of his most well known works include his expo67 logo, his aluminum folding chair, and being a designer for a subway station in Montreal. He passed away in 1994, aged 76.

Before the National Arts Centre was constructed, there were no formal performing arts centres in Ottawa. Over fifty different local arts organizations petitioned for its creation, and it was approved with a 6-7 million dollar construction estimate. The whole endeavor ended up costing over 44 million by the time it was finished, and part of this budget was allocated specifically for the purchase of artworks, which was unheard of at the time. The NAC had its official opening in 1969 to much success.

As the budget for building the NAC increased, so too did the amount of money dedicated to artworks for the building. There were some outright purchases of artworks, but several pieces, such as the fountain, were specifically comissioned. Hébert was one of the artists selected to create a piece, and was instructed by the building architect to make something big, that would span two stories. Thus the fountain was made, and is one of the most integrated artworks in the building as Hébert made sure to include the NAC’s design motifs of hexagons and triangles into its design.