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 Selective Designs, Atlanta, Ga.
Photo courtesy Crystal Fountains, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Photo courtesy Laughing Waters, Palos Heights, Ill.
Photo courtesy Aquatic Consultants, Miami, Fla.
Photo courtesy Colorado Hardscapes, Denver, Colo.
Photo courtesy New Leaf Landscape, Agoura Hills, Calif.
Photo courtesy Drakeley Pool Co., Bethlehem, Conn.
Photo courtesy Mystic Water Gardens, Encino, Calif.

High-Rise Performance

The process of installing swimming pools in high-rise buildings presents a number of challenges not found in standard inground projects, notes commercial pool specialist William N. Rowley. To illustrate that point, he discusses what went into crafting two spectacular pools for Los Angeles’ new L.A. Live complex, where special concerns about leaks, noise, weight, maintenance and basic project execution all came prominently into play.

In Pursuit of Art

In 2008, William Drakeley was at a crossroads and saw this big, uniquely challenging project as a way to separate himself from the crowd. lt was a bit more than he bargained for, but he persisted -- and knows that making it all work changed the regional perception of his business.

A Story in Stone

Through the years, Dave Garton's experience in designing and building naturalistic and architectural watershapes has led him into several situations in which his clients have wanted to use a special heirloom or artifact of some kind as a key design element in a project under discussion.

Color Clashes

If you don't prepare your clients for what will almost certainly happen to the appearance of this flashy form of decking and coping, writes Paolo Benedetti, you can find yourself facing unpleasant consequences -- from encounters with peevish homeowners to

Dual Jewels

Working on a steeply sloping site above a Texas lake, Mike Farley ran into a bizarre local rule that knocked him back a couple steps -- literally. But that episode didn't keep him from providing his clients and their kids with more fun and features than

Pond-Algae Strategies

Although a little algae in a pond is generally a good and inevitable thing, observes Mike Gannon, a bloom of any noticeable extent is never truly welcome. That's why he has sized up and is ready to recommend a number of ways to help keep the intrusive greenery at bay.

Shall We Dance?

Faced with what he saw as a clear need to simplify the task of choreographing dancing fountains, Scott Palamar applied what he knew about control technology to the problem -- and the result is an approach that makes both new and old waterfeatures dance to

Graceful Reflections

The potency of water’s reflective nature is a component of watershaping that is all too often ignored or left to chance, says renowned environmental artist Anthony Archer Wills. When considered from the outset of a project, however, the brilliance and subtlety of a reflection is something he uses to completely transform the experience of viewing water in ways that become ongoing sources of delight and fascination for his clients.

A Guard's-Eye View

Waterpark design is typically about delivering the fun, comfort, safety and excitement guests have come to expect from these expansive aquatic playgrounds. Here, veteran theme-park lifeguard Brett Herman offers his deck-level perspective on key factors to be considered in making these environments work not only for the paying public, but also for the young people charged with the practicalities of managing these busy spaces.

Delicate Dynamics

In 2002, David Tisherman shared his approach to turning monotonous spillways into unique visual and aural design elements. In doing so, he started something of a revolution that's still flowing strong today.

Spanish Rhapsody

Barcelona's a special place, writes Jim McCloskey -- one made all the more inviting by the Magic Fountain of Montjuic, a pioneering fountain everyone should see.

Concrete Possibilities

Fresh approaches to an all-too-familiar material. 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.

CRYSTAL FOUNTAINS VIDEO SHOWCASE

Click 'play' to watch the current showcase video

New Products at Watershapes.com

The Muse Collection from Oceanside Glasstile

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Oceanside Glasstile on the Muse Collection of mosaic glass tile.

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Speck Pumps on the Badu Block Multi, a vertically mounted pump for pools, fountains and waterfeatures

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Hayward Pool Products on the CAT 6000 water-chemistry controller.

Versa-Lok Makes Plantable Retaining Walls

Landscape/Hardscape Materials & Equipment
Product information from Versa-Lok Retaining Wall Systems on Versa-Green, its plantable wall segments

Vortex Offers a Low-Flow Waterplay System

Other Watershape Systems & Equipment
Product information from Vortex Aquatic Structures Int'l on its SprayPoint low-flow waterplay system.

FX Luminaire Offers Compact Underwater Lights

Pond/Stream Systems & Equipment
Product information from FX Luminaire on its compact model LP submersible LED lighting fixtures

Hidden Treasures

WaterShapes World (blog)
Still laid low by an aching back, Jim McCloskey returns to the WaterShapes archives once again, this time calling your attention to a set of articles that didn't draw as many clicks and views as they should have -- a situation he seeks to remedy here with