Aquatic Culture | 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 Selective Designs, Atlanta, Ga.
Photo courtesy Crystal Fountains, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Photo courtesy Laughing Waters, Palos Heights, Ill.
Photo courtesy Aquatic Consultants, Miami, Fla.
Photo courtesy Colorado Hardscapes, Denver, Colo.
Photo courtesy New Leaf Landscape, Agoura Hills, Calif.
Photo courtesy Drakeley Pool Co., Bethlehem, Conn.
Photo courtesy Mystic Water Gardens, Encino, Calif.

A Taproot Manuscript

Landscape designer Cynthia Hayes combines an empathy for nature with smart problem-solving and a passion for finding the spiritual dimension in a space as the starting point for her designs. For the project pictured here, she was challenged by clients who shared her values and wanted her to weave multiple styles, ethnic icons and disparate ecosystems together in a small yard filled with art, vibrant colors and various other features, including a lap pool.

Lake Effects

The position and basic shape of the pool may have been predetermined, writes Scott Cummings, but the visual drama he added with his finish selections and a perimeter-overflow/vanishing-edge design made all the difference in optimizing the site's cool wate

Defining Delicate Tasks

After sizing up the situation with the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle, William Rowley took the next step and developed an engineering plan to aid in restoring the plumbing system, structure and overall functionality of one of the world's most recognized an

#30: Tiled Finger Ledge

Who says a pool's safety features have to be visually intrusive? As Mike Farley discusses in introducing his brief video on an often-dull detail, even a finger ledge can, with the right client, the right pool and a bit of imagination, contribute signific

Peninsular Charm

Working atop a rocky prominence through a harsh winter on a short schedule? It was enough to make Kurt Kraisinger take a unique approach to the project, drawing support from near and far to get things done -- from extensive site preparation through t

Progress Report

The old pond had been around for years, but it had never been anything special. Revising it with a jolt of visual energy was a big job, reports Mike Gannon -- and as this video demonstrates, reflects today's practices while showing how far he and pondcra

Flowing in Light

It's a challenge designers and builders face every time they work with raised spas, waterfalls, grottoes or vanishing edges: Saving the best for last, Graham Orme completes his four-part series on underwater-lighting techniques by focusing here on variou

Breathtaking Beauty

For nearly 150 years, the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis has been a delight to those who’ve visited its array of garden types and styles. During the last 30 of those years, many of these areas have been augmented by the addition of waterfeatures and fountains, notes Kerry Friedman of Hydro Dramatics, a company that has worked hand in hand with facility managers and sponsors to bring new interest and special excitement to the grounds.

Mass in Motion

Granite and water have long been combined to create spectacular visual compositions – artistic statements with the ability to speak to us across the centuries. Today, says fountain designer Jeff Castle, modern technology has kicked these materials to all-new levels of aesthetic performance, and a new breed of fountains has emerged in which various precision-crafted granite objects float on thin sheets of water and move as if they were weightless.

Maximizing Exposures

David Tisherman has always taken photographs and recorded the processes with which his watershapes are built. Here's a look at the thinking behind this passionate advocacy.

A Slithering Treat

Ever since its water first flowed in 1971, the Vaillancourt Fountain in San Francisco has been controversial and subject to periodic calls for demolition. So see it while you can, says Jim McCloskey, because it's a spectacular work of public art and well worth a trip to the Embarcadero.

Defining Resources

Schooled by the value of experience. 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

Water Wall Spillway from Atlantic Water Gardens ...

Other Watershape Systems & Equipment
Product information from Atlantic Water Gardens on its vertically oriented spillway for water walls.

Landscape/Hardscape Materials & Equipment
Product information from Iron Age Designs on its ornamental cast-metal grates for trench drains.

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Chemtrol on the PC2100 Controller for ORP and pH management of pool/spa water

Salt Chlorine Generator from ContolOMatic

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from ControlOMatic on MegaChlor, a salt-chlorine generator for small pools and spas

Bradford Products Offers Custom Spa Designs

Pool/Spa Systems & Equipment
Product information from Bradford Products on its fabrication of custom spas in stainless steel.

Outdoor Living Systems & Accessories
Product information from QCP on Slab, a precast-concrete fire feature available in three lengths.

Water Warnings

WaterShapes World (blog)
With each return of summer comes another run of articles about how hazardous immersing yourself in water can sometimes be. But this year, notes Jim McCloskey, there's an odd ingredient in the media mix that has challenged his ability to let the stories r