2015/8.1, August 5 — Digital Engagement, Pond-Free Cascades, All-Tile Remodeling and more

THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS

August 5, 2015 www.watershapes.com

DIGITAL DESIGN

Rising Aspiration

For someone who started out as a pool designer who never visited his clients’ backyards, Jeromey Naugle has come a long, long way — and knows how important a part digital technology has played in his progress as a professional ‘paradise expert.’ [more]

FEATURE ARTICLE

Iridescent Perfection

When the goal is glass-tiled perfection, says Jimmy Reed, there’s no substitute for the hard work that goes into ideal surface preparation. And that’s especially true when, as in the case highlighted here, the project involves resurfacing an old, deep pool and its odd set of coves. [more]

CASCADE CREATION

Basin Burdens

Pond-free waterfalls are a great boon to backyards where there’s insufficient room for an appropriately sized pond, notes Eric Triplett. But as this video demonstrates, if you build them with skill, patience and a naturalistic spirit, you can make them look as though they belong. [more]

ESSENTIAL

The Graceful Dance

Residential garden and watershape design should be an intensely personal process, says landscape architect and watershaper Michelle Van De Voorde — one keyed to the needs and desires of the client but balanced by the designer’s singular passion for composing exterior spaces. To demonstrate how this balance takes shape in her own work, she leads us through the thought processes that distinguish a selection of her clients’ evocative backyards.

This article, originally published in WaterShapes in July 2005, has been digitized for all readers. Click here to see the full text and enlarge the images to study the craftsmanship in detail.

WATERSHAPES WORLD

Priced Out

In grazing his way around the web, Jim McCloskey has seen lots of articles about municipalities in the process of adding new public pools. That’s great, but there’s something about these stories that has led him to formulate and start asking some tough questions. [more]

TRAVELOGUE

Mile-High Gallop

Located at the entrance to Denver’s NFL stadium is a vertical watershape that combines ambitious visual design, massive bronze sculptures, complex cascades, rugged rockwork and delicate alpine landscaping — well worth a visit, writes watershaper Jim Morris. [more]

WE BROWSE SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO . . .

Mixed Messages Dept.: Energy drink uses waterfeature project to define a role for aquatic professionals. [more]

Dodge headaches by avoiding ill-fated D.I.Y. approaches!

Clear Messages Dept.: Why toil? It’s time to kick back and luxuriate in your own hot-tub hammock. [more]

Who needs manual labor when life can be so good?

WATERSHAPES CLASSIC

The Necessity of Restraint

Back in August 2005, David Tisherman wrote about a tendency shared by many watershapers — an approach to projects that troubled him and led him to discuss an awareness he thought might help. [more]

THE SHOPPING CART

Lightcraft Publishes 2015 Landscape Lighting Catalog

Lightcraft Outdoor Environments (Chatsworth, CA) has released its 2015 product catalog. The document covers directional flood and spotlights, wall floods, accent and path lights, hanging pendants and candle lights, bistro and string lights and inground well and hardscape lights, along with power supplies, transformers and accessories. For details, click here.

Aquascape Introduces Spillway Bowl Fountains

Aquascape (St. Charles, IL) now offers hand-cast spillway bowls, basins and stands. Made from glass-fiber-reinforced concrete (GFRC), the units have the patina and appearance of handcrafted stone fountains at a fraction of the weight, resulting in easy installation. In addition, individual units can be linked together to create elaborate displays. For details, click here.

THE AQUATIC QUIZ

ISIS Lists Swimming Pool Rules as
Temperatures Soar in Mosul, Iraq

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

1. With temperatures supposed to reach 118 degrees in Mosul, Iraq — the country’s fifth-largest city, which is controlled by the so-called Islamic State — ISIS launched a propaganda campaign aimed at showing how good life is under its rule. The terrorist organization published a series of photos on social media showing men and boys cooling off in a Mosul swimming pool, with one of the images focusing on a list of rules in effect at the pool. Which one of the following, according to vocative.com, is not a listed rule?

a. Wear long shorts and a t-shirt	b. Don’t swear while swimming
c. Don’t swim with women or infidels	d. Don’t swim when you should be praying

2. Right before the start of an Olympic triathlon qualifier and a Paratriathlon event in
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Brazilian government released data showing that “water near where triathletes are preparing to compete this weekend is ‘unfit’ for swimming” due to fecal bacteria levels. The water sample on which the government’s findings were based, reports cbc.ca, came from the vicinity of what famous Rio beach?

a. Chupacabra Beach

b. Cucaracha Beach

c. Cocomambo Beach

d. Copacabana Beach

3. U.S. swimmer Katie Ledecky recently “accidentally” broke her own world record in one of the women’s Olympic swimming events. According to bleacherreport.com, she accomplished the feat “despite the race [only] being a preliminary heat at the FINA World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia.” The article went on to note, “Making the [new] record all the more impressive was that Ledecky wasn’t even attempting to swim her best time.” Which swimming event was it?