Aquatic Culture | Watershapes

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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.

Wings on the Water

There’s much more to a birdbath than one might think, says Bill Fintel, an expert in the art of setting up small bodies of water to attract our feathered friends. For many years, in fact, Fintel has studied the way birds act around water and has made a c

Paths of Discovery

India's stepwells are truly amazing, but relatively few people know anything about them. Victoria Lautman wants to change all that, reporting on their long history in a book -- and in a series for WaterShapes on three of the country's most wondrous arch

Koi Selection ABCs

With many of his clients, Eric Triplett has observed that picking Koi for a new pond is an oddly overwhelming task. That's why he recommends keeping it simple, using a systematic approach that he and a favorite supplier demonstrate here in a trio of brief videos.

Weighing the Options

Instead of using soils and structural engineers to prepare plans tailored to a site's specific needs, builders sometimes order generic engineering plans and hope everything will work out for the best. That's a debatable decision, writes Paolo Benedetti,

Working at Water's Edge

Designing and building any pool in close proximity to a body of water has its challenges. But if you start by focusing on one primary goal, writes William Drakeley, you'll find that the rest of the tasks involved in these technically demanding projects w

Living, Breathing Ponds

One of the least heralded factors in pond health is also among the most significant: It's all about oxygen, writes Ed Beaulieu, who reviews the basics while offering some suggestions on how to keep it's level up where it needs to be to make both fish and plants happy.

Expansive Vision

The homeowners had waited decades to revamp their backyard and came to the project with high expectations about how their new spa, fountain and deck would look. Now it was up to Grant Smith to solve a few tricky technical issues while making the most of

Graphic Appeal

For more than three decades, industrial designer, educator and inventor Stephen Pevnick has quietly been producing the mind-bending systems he calls ‘Graphical Waterfalls’ – highly specialized watershapes in which letters, words and images are formed with remarkable clarity within fine sheets of falling water. He discusses this mesmerizing effect here and its role in capturing attention and conveying messages in unique and surprising ways.

Rough Edges

Although far more common than they once were, pools with vanishing edges are still among the watershaping industry’s most distinctive products. Their increased popularity, however, has been accompanied by a rash of expensive repairs and structural failures in the walls used to create the edge effects. To get to the bottom of this epidemic, engineer Ron Lacher has investigated the causes and, in this article, presents his recommendations for solutions.

Reindeer-Proof Holidays

The holiday season is a time for caring and sharing, notes Scott Cohen -- but feeding Santa's reindeer when they stop by is asking too much. Here are planting suggestions that will help keep them moving.

Big-Shouldered Fountain

Commissioned in 1927, Buckingham Fountain is a national treasure, says Jim McCloskey -- a must-see in Chicago for anyone interested in historic, epic-scale watershapes.

Two Tales of Two Architects

About his trips to Fort Worth's Modern Art Museum and Kimbell Art Museum, WaterShapes book reviewer Mike Farley observes, ironically, that '[books] cannot replace the experience of visiting such great spaces in person.' Still, Farley recommends two titles

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New Products at Watershapes.com

Fire & Water Bowls from Grand Effects

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information from Grand Effects on its 360° Fire & Water Bowls for outdoor living spaces.

Stetson Makes Pour-a-Lid Channel-Drain Covers

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Stetson Development on its Pour-a-Lid trays for use in creating channel drains that blend in more effectively with surrounding decking material.

Landscape/Hardscape Materials & Equipment
Product information from Vista Professional Outdoor Lighting on its Model 1505 LED step light fixtures

Southern Grouts & Mortars Offers Diamond Brilliance

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from Southern Grouts & Mortars on Diamond Brilliance, a finish for submerged us in watershapes.

Natare Manufactures Moving Bulkhead Systems

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Natare Pool Corp. on its moving bulkheads for use in training or competition swimming pools.

Construction Systems & Materials
Product information from CCEI on its Plug in Pool System, with which pool lights and accessories are powered using induction rather than direct contact.

Engaging Ideas

WaterShapes World (blog)
This edition of WaterShapes includes a pair of unusual articles, notes Jim McCloskey -- one about a form of watershaping that blew his mind when he first encountered it a couple years back, the other filled with detailed information of significance to all