2013/7.2, July 24 — Saving a Great Lake, Defining a Modern Classic, Understanding Pond Maintenance and more

July 24, 2013 www.watershapes.com

ESSENTIAL

Welcoming Waters

The restoration of the private lake pictured in this article offered watershaper George Forni a set of challenges that ranged from completely recasting the lake’s structure, filtration and circulation system to devising a variety of design features aimed at bringing both fine aesthetics and ample family fun to the setting. The result, he says, is a project that was unusually comprehensive in scope and unfailingly remarkable in execution.

This article, originally published in October 2006, has been digitized for all readers. Click here to see the full text and enlarge the images to study the craftsmanship in detail.

FEATURE ARTICLE

Working the Nitrogen Cycle

Managing a pond or watergarden involves a list of familiar chores. All it takes to help those who perform these tasks understand why their work is necessary and what it accomplishes, writes Ed Beaulieu, is a dash of information on the dynamics of the nitrogen cycle. [more]

WHAT IS IT?

#6: ‘Hidden’ Skimmer

Sometimes, preserving the aesthetics of a design calls for uncommon approaches to common features. That’s in evidence in this brief video, which shows how preserving the look of a pool’s sleek, stylish coping led Mike Farley to put a fresh twist on a standard detail. [more]

WATERSHAPES WORLD

Conflicted Interests

A program encouraging an Australian township’s homeowners to convert their swimming pools into ponds grabbed Jim McCloskey‘s attention recently — and inspired this brief discussion of the practicalities (and realities?) involved in these transformations. [more]

PLATINUM REFLECTIONS

Softly Modern

This project walked a narrow line between the modernist tastes of the homeowners and the property’s traditional surroundings. But walking that tightrope was easy, notes Kevin Fleming, compared to executing the installation’s fine details, highlighted here in words and images. [more]

TRAVELOGUE

Temperate Thoughts

Our nation’s capital boasts many beautiful fountains, writes Jim McCloskey — but there are some quirky exceptions, including an odd composition that embodies one of the great social controversies of the late 19th Century and has a strangely fascinating history as well. [more]

WHAT’S NEW?

Now at WaterShapes.com . . .

While supplies last, you can purchase one of 12 available complete, mint-condition, 131-issue sets of WaterShapes, a print publication that set the tone for development of the art and craft of watershaping from February 1999 until July 2011. For ordering information, click here!

Simian Exercise Regimen . . .

Indian Monkey Swims Daily
Laps in Mumbai Public Pool

[more]

WATERSHAPES CLASSIC

Keeping Control

Concerns about intellectual property were rare among watershapers until fairly recently, wrote Brian Van Bower five years ago. But in the Internet era, it’s truly a big deal — and a fitting subject of this classic column. [more]

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

Floating Pool for New York River

One Step Closer to Being Built

Many water-related stories have been in the news of late – including reports connected to the three questions below.

1. The plan to install a large, plus-shaped floating pool in New York City’s East River has come one step closer to fruition after more than $273,000 was raised by the crowd-funding Web site Kickstarter. The money will be used to install a 35-by-35-foot mini version of the proposed pool (no swimming allowed) as a scientific test bed to further study the concept. How much is the full-sized swimming pool — which will be called the + Pool and will be 164 feet by 164 feet — expected to cost?

a. $10 million b. $15 million c. $20 million d. $25 million

2. A major U.S. city opened its river — at least temporarily and in a small, roped-off area — to public swimming for the first time in 50 years. The event was made possible by the river’s improving water quality. What river and what city?

a. The Hudson River in New York City b. The Chicago River in Chicago
c. The Charles River in Boston d. The Mississippi River in New Orleans

3. Turkish authorities shut down the Bosphorus Strait — which divides the European side of Istanbul from the Asian side — for three hours for the annual Bosphorous Cross-Continental swim. (The strait is one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.) Some 1,500 swimmers from nearly 50 countries took part in this year’s event. What is the length of the crossing?

a. 4 miles b. 6 miles c. 8 miles d. 10 miles

To find out how many you got right, click here.