WaterShapes

The web site for all professionals and consumers who've made or want to make water a part of their lives

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Photo courtesy Questar Pools & Spas, Escondido, Calif.
Photo courtesy H2Oarts, Santa Paula, Calif.
Photo courtesy Hess Landscape Architects, Lansdale, Pa.
Photo courtesy Design Ecology, Austin, Texas
Photo courtesy Longwood Gardens, Kennett Square, Pa.
Photo courtesy Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif.
Photo courtesy Rock Solid Tile, Calabasas, Calif.
Photo courtesy Hughes Water Gardens, Wilsonville, Ore.

The Art of the Rectangle

The pool and spa are simple in shape, says builder David Tisherman, but the project was anything but: Built on a wildly unstable Southern California hillside and intertwined with extensive remodeling of the clients’ home, the serene finished product contrasts starkly with tales of change orders and complicated decision-making processes – not to mention a desire on the part of client and designer to strive for nothing but the best.

A Basement's Bounty

Historic restorations are typically difficult work, but as Rick Randazzo discovered 40 feet below the streets of New York, sometimes it can be fascinating, irritating and gratifying as well.

Subtle Precipitation

When the opportunity to try something new came his way, Scott Cohen stepped up with an ingenious water-wall system that did more for his clients than he ever could have imagined.

Modern Mystique

It was a fairly straightforward consultation that became much more fun, writes Paolo Benedetti, as he made a few corrections, offered a few suggestions and found a fellow traveler on the road to visual perfection.

Stepping In

Asked to work on a spa after a general contractor had started its construction using an ill-advised approach, Grant Smith moved forward knowing there'd be conflicts on site -- but confident that the clients had his back as he worked to rescue a key feature of their remodeling project.

Translucent Beauty

He was called in to help with a spa, but Brian Van Bower ended up pitching in with three watershapes in all -- each of which offered unique hydraulic challenges and all of which contributed to creating an elegant, water-defined penthouse space overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

In the Cards

Of all the promotional tools Dave Garton has deployed to support his watershaping business through the years, nothing has been more effective than his business cards. Why so? As as he reports here, it's because there's more to them than the usual bits of contact information.

Awakening a Dream

Certainly one of the world’s most unusual watershaping achievements, ‘Le Reve’ is a Las Vegas-style aquatic production that carries audiences into an amazing dream world of water, light, music and incredible acrobatic skill. To achieve the water effects, former Cirque du Soleil producer Franco Dragone turned to Aviram Müller and Canada’s Kaarajal Design Aquatique – and the result is a marriage of watershaping art and technology unlike any other.

Latitude for Attitude

The owners may have named the property ‘The Bait Shack’ as a humorous means of conveying their love of all things oceanic, but the quirky name does little to mask the luxury embodied by their oceanfront estate. Designed and built as a complete, top-to-bottom, turnkey project by D’Ascanio Brothers and the staff at D’Asign Source, this home and its surroundings stand among the firm’s most comprehensive and elaborate efforts to date.

Setting Egos Aside

Ego helps keep us going, concedes Brian Van Bower in his Aqua Culture column from September 2009. But as he observed, it it can get very much in the way when it comes to projects of a certain kind.

Serendipity

A meeting took Jim McCloskey to a downtown Los Angeles hotel where, getting restless, he set out to explore a nearby museum. But before he'd gone even a few yards, he heard the sounds of moving water and discovered a wonderfully accessible urban oasis.

Selling the Dream

This installment of Book Notes is a double-header: First, Mike Farley reviews International Award–Winning Pools, Spas and Water Environments by Virginia Martino, Joseph M. Vassallo and Mary Vail. Then he reviews Scott Cohen’s Poolscapes: Refreshing Ideas for the Ultimate Backyard Resort. Cohen is, of course, a frequent contributor to WaterShapes EXTRA!

CRYSTAL FOUNTAINS VIDEO SHOWCASE

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New Products at Watershapes.com

Hayward Offers VGB Compliant Outlets

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Hayward Pool Products on its VGB-compliant suction outlets for residential and commercial pools.

Fountain Systems & Equipment
Product information from Blue Thumb on its gray/white stone fountain kits, featuring three-column assemblies at three heights.

Landscape/Hardscape Materials & Equipment
Product information from Deckorators on Voyage wood-simulating composite decking with a slip-resisting texture.

Professional Watershaping
Information from Genesis University on its course selections and schedules for the 2019-2020 program year

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information from Trex Pergola on its shade structures with retractable fabric canopy systems for customized use.

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Ramuc Pool & Deck Paint on its improved A2 synthetic-rubber coating for a range of watershapes.

Lessons in Trust

WaterShapes World (blog)
Reflecting on a difficult decision from a recent construction project at his home, Jim McCloskey has regrets about the way things turned out -- and learned a valuable lesson about trust along the way.