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 J. BROWNLEE DESIGN, NASHVILLE, TENN.
PHOTO OF CHAND BAORI COURTESY VICTORIA LAUTMAN, LOS ANGELES
PHOTO COURTESY JULIET WOOD DESIGN, ATLANTA, GA.
PHOTO COURTESY OUTSIDE THE LINES, ANAHEIM, CALIF.
PHOTO COURTESY RYAN HUGHES DESIGN|BUILD, TAMPA, FLA.
PHOTO COURTESY PINNACLE DESIGN, LA QUINTA, CALIF.
PHOTO COURTESY LIQUID DESIGNZ, WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.
PHOTO COURTESY STUDIO JUNGLES, MIAMI, FLA.

Spanning Space and Time

The art and craft of building wooden bridges has been overtaken through the years, with steel and reinforced-concrete structures almost entirely supplanting them for the past 100 years or so. But designer/builder Dan Moosman has bucked the modern trend, providing his clients with Craftsman-style wooden bridges that now grace landscapes across the country and make strong aesthetic statements wherever they’re placed.

Circular Engagement

Adaptation, design flexibility, multi-functionality and an ability to vanish completely were all required in this masterful project engineered and designed by Daniel Netz. Here, he explains the ideas and processes that resulted in a waterfeature meant to be both iconic and completely retiring.

Detail: A770

While many construction details are forever hidden from view, notes Dave Peterson, others stand front and center. This waterwall treatment, for instance, is a prime example of a simple design idea that shapes the fluid characteristics of the feature while also keeping it from splashing into the surrounding area.

Failures of Trust

Engineers carry an almost sacred trust, with watershapers relying on them to design structures and systems that are reliable, science-based and code-compliant. When that trust is broken, says Dave Peterson, the consumer’s investment is at risk -- as is the watershaper’s reputation.

Mastering the Long View

Great work often takes time, says designer/builder, Kevin Cobabe. Case in point, the project pictured here was years in the making with all sorts of hurdles courtesy of the local building department and a tricky site. Through experience and education Cobabe was able to step up and solve the project’s many challenges.

Detail: S034

Installing structural steel in a swimming pool means negotiating a variety of fittings, contours, corners and curves. This latest detail from Dave Peterson offers critical guidance when installing steel that bends, but doesn’t break.

Lessons in Frustration

Upgrading a tired classic kidney pool should not have been a particularly tall order, or so thought homeowners Kris Anna Andersen and R. Lee Steele. Little did they know the depth and complexity they would face in trying to reclaim the pool’s classic beauty and updating its equipment.

Everything Under the Sun

It was a massive commercial installation, one that included a decorative fountain, a large free-form swimming pool, a tile-lined stainless-steel spa, a massive rock waterfeature and a high-tech, interactive children’s play feature – all meant to add to the appeal of an exclusive Florida resort. Teamwork was the key, says the project’s manager, Russell Penick, with success resulting from the combined effort of architects, engineers, suppliers and contractors.

A Real Glass Act

As clients demand more and more creativity and aesthetic value in their watershapes, an increasing number of professionals are turning to the installation of prefabricated or custom-designed mosaics as a way to add elegance, complexity and sometimes even humor to their work. Here, tile expert Dan Andrews surveys this trend and takes us on a tour through the possibilities of a form of artistic expression with a long, long history.

The Unheard Music

A chance encounter with a fountain he spotted on his way out of New Orleans last year led Jim McCloskey to consider the importance of what seemed to be missing from an otherwise impressive celebration of parades, Mardi Gras and the Crescent City's unique cultural heritage.

Site Lines

The practical art of site evaluation. 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

Pentair Refines Commercial Heater

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Pentair on upgrades it has made for its MasterTemp ASME pool heaters for commercial pools.

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Ramuc about a slip resistant additive designed for use with its pool paint additive.

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information covering Coolaroo's ready-to-hang line of shade sail kits for pool areas and decks.

Other Watershape Systems & Equipment
Product information on Code 3 Water's MP line of pumps designed to turn swimming pools into firefighting resources.

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information highlighting Aquamatic's Solar Bench system for use primarily on commercial pools.

Fountain Systems & Equipment
Product information on Delta Fountains geyser nozzles for use in pond, pool and fountain-basin applications.

A Guy in a Pool

WaterShapes World (blog)
Sharing time in a pool has a way of carrying everyone involved to a relaxed state of mind that lets the rigors of daily life temporarily slip away. It's a sensation Eric Herman recently experienced with a group of friends, all of whom lead energetic, stressful lives.