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.

Good Aerations

The health and welfare of a typical pond or lake depends on a long list of factors – not the least of which, says engineer Erich Altvater, is proper aeration. If you get it right, he says, you can improve water quality; miss the mark, however, and many m

Digging Deep

The project started with all the stress of figuring out how to satisfy regulators angered by the homeowner's previous attempts to beautify a protected streambed. Colleen Holmes saved the day by jumping through countless hoops -- then left her client with a lovely, hard-won haven.

Easing Transitions

It's always fun working with clients who know what they want but don't think they can have it, writes Shane LeBlanc. And that's particularly true when they're great collaborators who've already taken steps to set the tone and prepare the space for a crowning aquatic touch.

Everyday Serenity

This amazing structure sits just off the route toward a more prominent tourist attraction, notes Victoria Lautman in the last of her series of articles on India's stepwells. But as is true of so many of these marvels, Peena Mann ka Kund is more than worth a detour off a well-beaten path.

The Evocative Mirror

Called in to rescue a troubled project, Jeromey Naugle figured out what the client really wanted in no time at all -- then had to cope with starts, stops and delays while delivering all of the features the homeowner craved to complete an impressively reflective backyard.

Split-Level Pond

Setting up a vanishing-edge Koi pond offers unusual challenges to the watershaper. First, notes Scott Cohen, you need to accommodate the fish and keep them safe. Then there are the aesthetic issues -- plus a few details of installation that require extra-special attention.

A Healing Art

Healing gardens are now playing important roles for healthcare facilities of all descriptions, note J. Wickham Zimmerman and Chris Roy. Here's a look at a particularly prominent example of the genre -- complete with a tricky site, an elaborate sculpture and 15 watershapes.

Falling Arches

Watershape designer and installer Rick Pendleton is passionate about using watershapes and landscapes in executing designs uniquely inspired by given settings and the personalities of his clients. In the project covered here, for example, he took a cue or two from the homeowners, borrowed a motif he found in the home’s architecture and combined them with a top-flight approach to construction in delivering the unique look his clients craved.

Desert Moves

Creating watershapes for one of the hottest, driest places on earth might seem a bit crazy, concedes Crystal Fountains’ Michael Denman. But the fact is, people living in those places have long been aware of the ability of water to increase the comfort and appeal of public and private places – and are currently updating ancient traditions with thoroughly modern watershaping technology in showplace cities throughout the Middle East.

Finding Ways

In 2004, Brian Van Bower opened up in his Aqua Culture column with observations about the direction of the watershaping industry. Are his observations as relevant now as they were back then?

A Fair to Remember

Visits to New York tend to focus on Manhattan, concedes Jim McCloskey -- but he nonetheless recommends a trip to Queens to see a magnificent, literally global fountain.

Presentation Secrets

What we can learn from Apple's Steve Jobs. 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

Guppy Submerged LED Fixtures from Lightcraft

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information from Lightcraft Outdoor on its compact Guppy underwater LED light fixtures.

Pentair Releases Control/Monitoring System

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Pentair Aquatic Systems on IntelliConnect, a control/monitoring systems for pools.

Loop-Loc Launches Light-Blocking Pool Covers

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Pool-Loc on its Aqua-Xtreme light-blocking material for swimming pool covers.

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Da Vinci Spas on its custom stainless steel hot tubs with acrylic-panel inserts.

Haddonstone Offers Self Circulating Fountains

Fountain Systems & Equipment
Product information from Haddonstone on its broad range of self-contained garden fountains.

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information from S.R. Smith on its Destination Lounger, an in-pool seat for residential and commercial pools.

Unusual Blowback

WaterShapes World (blog)
A recent blog about his WaterShapes-related New Year's Resolution drew an unusual quantity of reader comments, reports Jim McCloskey. Some volunteered to help; others just hated the idea. But there was also a third sort of response -- a set of observations that made his day.