WaterShapes

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An Elegant Edge

Peter Cattano has built a distinguished watershaping career by creating quality swimming pools in many of the Northeast’s most beautiful settings. Here, he profiles a project he counts among his firm’s finest achievements: a vanishing-edge pool in a spectacular woodland setting – and the product of an artful collaboration among the clients, Cattano’s staff at Paco Pools and the talented landscape architects at Schlick Design Group.

A Study in Contrasts, Part 1

Watershaper Reid Schindler was asked to create side-by-side designs for neighboring business partners. The kicker, he says in the first of a pair of articles, was that the two projects were direct stylistic opposites.

Detail: S032

Avoiding 'shadowing' in the shotcrete-placement process is crucial to the structural integrity of pool shells, notes Dave Peterson. Here, he shares a detail that dodges the void creation that can lead to structural compromises.

A Beautiful Wreck

Part of a team that recently completed an intricate splash pad on the shores of Washington's scenic Puget Sound, Kent Walker guides a tour of a design centered on a faux shipwreck -- and its cargo of interactive features.

Design and Desire

Working with an ample budget, great clients and a large, open canvas all spelled 'opportunity' for Jason Brownlee -- a chance to integrate multiple design elements into a composition in which water, stone, tile and fire define a European look that also offers a dash of mystery.

Detail: A201

This time, Dave Peterson shares a simple, reliable way to extend stone veneer from the deck surface all the way down into the pool's interior. It's a great way, he suggests, to create a transition from dry to wet surfaces that is durable, graceful -- and visually seamless.

Art of the Waterfall

No matter whether it's a pond, stream or swimming pool, waterfalls are an appealing part of the composition -- which is why Larry Carnes includes them in most of his projects. Here, he shares some approaches to making these features both naturalistic and completely mesmerizing.

Back to the Garden

As a design concept, Japanese gardens know no cultural or geographic borders: Elements of this style of garden design have been exported throughout the world to shape exterior spaces of all sorts in both public and private settings. Here, Elizabeth Navas Finley, an expert in gardening and landscape design, discusses the underlying principles of Japanese gardens, defining ways in which this simple approach to designing spaces can be put to use across a spectrum of applications.

The Power in Partnering

Construction can be a tough business: Even minor conflicts or disputes often lead to courtroom battles, and you can hardly blame people in the trades for thinking ‘potential lawsuit’ every time they sign a contract. One way to avoid these lose/lose scenarios, says aquatic consultant Curt Straub, is to implement a simple, up-front agreement designed to foster cooperation among designers, engineers, contractors and clients.

Inexplicable

He was perfectly happy with the impression the fountain had made the first time he saw it, says Jim McCloskey. That's why he's so dismayed by the 'updated' version, which takes a powerful, kinetic sculpture and hobbles it in what he labels a sad, unfortunate renovation.

Toward an American Architecture

Frank Lloyd Wright in his own words. Book Notes includes reviews of a wide variety of publications hand-selected by a professional watershaper/landscape designer who sees their relevance in his life and work.

New Products at Watershapes.com

Hayward Manufactures Bulkhead Fittings

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Hayward Pool Products on BFA Series bulkhead fittings and tank adapters for commercial pool projects.

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from RicoRock on grotto and small cave systems available with a new, simpler installation system.

Fountain Systems & Equipment
Product information from Bradford Products on the FX line of sheeting waterfalls for pools, spas and other waterfeatures.

Living Waters Offers Portable Water Cannon

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Living Waters Aeration on its Portable Watercannon for aerating and cooling swimming pool water.

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from A&A Manufacturing on the QuikPure3 system, an ozone-generation system for swimming pools.

Landscape/Hardscape Materials & Equipment
Product information from World of Bronze on fountains and statuary made from solid bronze for garden and outdoor use.

Culture of Conflict

WaterShapes World (blog)
Will a flood of litigation compromise the watershaping industry's reputation and/or success -- and how might 'alternative dispute resolution' fit into the picture? Here's Eric Herman's take on both fronts.