Other Waterfeatures (from birdbaths to lakes)
For me, hitting the high notes in watershaping and landscape design is a product of careful observation, boundless imagination and detailed visualization. These factors drive the design process, after which I transition into the more practical phases of the project with reliable engineering and quality construction. The early, creative phases can definitely be tricky, because they require many of my clients to take great leaps of faith, especially when what they're after is a highly customized environment - something truly unique. In those cases, we know that we at Artisan Home Resorts (San Jose, Calif.) are asking clients to visualize something nobody's ever seen before: No matter how well we represent our ideas on paper or on a computer screen, the outcome will, to a certain degree, remain an abstraction until the everything is finished and working. When everything finally comes together (as we believe it did in the project illustrated in this feature), a vision is realized and the payoff can be extremely rewarding, both for the clients and for those of us who worked hard to see the process through. Here as in few other projects we've done, however, even we weren't precisely sure how
For me, hitting the high notes in watershaping and landscape design is a product of careful observation, boundless imagination and detailed visualization. These factors drive the design process, after which I transition into the more practical phases of the project with reliable engineering and quality construction. The early, creative phases can definitely be tricky, because they require many of my clients to take great leaps of faith, especially when what they're after is a highly customized environment - something truly unique. In those cases, we know that we at Artisan Home Resorts (San Jose, Calif.) are asking clients to visualize something nobody's ever seen before: No matter how well we represent our ideas on paper or on a computer screen, the outcome will, to a certain degree, remain an abstraction until the everything is finished and working. When everything finally comes together (as we believe it did in the project illustrated in this feature), a vision is realized and the payoff can be extremely rewarding, both for the clients and for those of us who worked hard to see the process through. Here as in few other projects we've done, however, even we weren't precisely sure how
The idea that someone can enter a man-made body of water and go surfing is both exciting and a bit mind-boggling. Perhaps that's why, as is the case with many a good idea, there's more than one claimant to the distinction of having built the first-ever wave pool. Most people in the know trace the origins of these vessels to the early 1970s, and I know for certain that we at Whitewater West jumped into the game early on: The company became involved in its first wave pool a year after opening its doors in 1982, and to date we've been involved in installing many of the hundreds of systems that now grace aquatic facilities across North America. As waterparks work to distinguish themselves, wave pools have become more elaborate when it comes to both themes and aesthetics. In fact, in the 17 years I've been working on wave or surf pools for the company, I've seen these vessels grow dramatically both in popularity and in the level of the technologies and design details that make them
The idea that someone can enter a man-made body of water and go surfing is both exciting and a bit mind-boggling. Perhaps that's why, as is the case with many a good idea, there's more than one claimant to the distinction of having built the first-ever wave pool. Most people in the know trace the origins of these vessels to the early 1970s, and I know for certain that we at Whitewater West jumped into the game early on: The company became involved in its first wave pool a year after opening its doors in 1982, and to date we've been involved in installing many of the hundreds of systems that now grace aquatic facilities across North America. As waterparks work to distinguish themselves, wave pools have become more elaborate when it comes to both themes and aesthetics. In fact, in the 17 years I've been working on wave or surf pools for the company, I've seen these vessels grow dramatically both in popularity and in the level of the technologies and design details that make them
It comes as no shock that we remember things that surprise and fascinate us. Back in my days as a graduate student in fine arts, I was determined to exploit that very human tendency in creating nature-inspired artworks meant to evoke deep-seated memories and a personalized sense of déjà vu. My first work along those lines involved creating a rail of ice with a central channel that carried heated air: The idea was to create a situation that reminded people of hot/cold experiences, such as the heat of a campfire on a cold night or the warmth of the sun atop a snow-capped mountain. That project started me down a long path that eventually led me to create waterfall systems that use large quantities of precisely controlled droplets of water to "paint" kinetic graphics, logos and text - a concept I've continued to perfect through the past 30 years. So far, these systems have mostly been used to display commercial messages at trade shows. It all makes sense: As deployed by exhibitors looking to amaze attendees (and by a handful of other high-profile commercial and public clients as well), the effect is meant to dominate a setting and attract maximum attention. To date, I've designed, programmed and installed more than 100 of these exhibits worldwide. We've done some special events as well, including an installation seen by 24 million people who visited Atlanta's Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics and, ten years later, another display celebrating the 60th anniversary of the coronation of
It comes as no shock that we remember things that surprise and fascinate us. Back in my days as a graduate student in fine arts, I was determined to exploit that very human tendency in creating nature-inspired artworks meant to evoke deep-seated memories and a personalized sense of déjà vu. My first work along those lines involved creating a rail of ice with a central channel that carried heated air: The idea was to create a situation that reminded people of hot/cold experiences, such as the heat of a campfire on a cold night or the warmth of the sun atop a snow-capped mountain. That project started me down a long path that eventually led me to create waterfall systems that use large quantities of precisely controlled droplets of water to "paint" kinetic graphics, logos and text - a concept I've continued to perfect through the past 30 years. So far, these systems have mostly been used to display commercial messages at trade shows. It all makes sense: As deployed by exhibitors looking to amaze attendees (and by a handful of other high-profile commercial and public clients as well), the effect is meant to dominate a setting and attract maximum attention. To date, I've designed, programmed and installed more than 100 of these exhibits worldwide. We've done some special events as well, including an installation seen by 24 million people who visited Atlanta's Centennial Park during the 1996 Olympics and, ten years later, another display celebrating the 60th anniversary of the coronation of
Waterpark design is typically about delivering the fun, comfort, safety and excitement guests have come to expect from these expansive aquatic playgrounds. Here, veteran theme-park lifeguard Brett Herman offers his deck-level perspective on key factors to be considered in making these environments work not only for the paying public, but also for the young people charged with the practicalities of managing these busy spaces. On any given day in some spot around the globe, a waterpark will add some new feature or other or opens its doors for the very first time, and the design focus is always about developing systems and mechanisms that will lead to a strong popular response and increasing financial success. If there's a fly in the ointment here, it's that these facilities are
Waterpark design is typically about delivering the fun, comfort, safety and excitement guests have come to expect from these expansive aquatic playgrounds. Here, veteran theme-park lifeguard Brett Herman offers his deck-level perspective on key factors to be considered in making these environments work not only for the paying public, but also for the young people charged with the practicalities of managing these busy spaces. On any given day in some spot around the globe, a waterpark will add some new feature or other or opens its doors for the very first time, and the design focus is always about developing systems and mechanisms that will lead to a strong popular response and increasing financial success. If there's a fly in the ointment here, it's that these facilities are
There's something intriguing about heavy objects that float on water. In our daily lives, we often see traditional fountains made with utterly huge pieces of stone, but as gorgeous and compelling as those systems can be, it's the ones in which that stone moves that are the most fascinating of all. The very idea that you can move a massive piece of granite with just the slightest touch of a hand is simply mesmerizing. These floating objects become centerpieces immediately - a fact that has led to their proliferation in plazas and other public spaces around the
Every so often, a project comes along that evolves as it rolls along, and what starts out as one set of tasks and parameters morphs to become something entirely different before it’s through. That was certainly the case on this residential-lake project: Located in the hills above Napa Valley, Calif., the job put us in touch with affluent, intelligent, fun-loving clients who had initially contacted us about the straightforward restoration of a dying lake located at the base of a ravine beset with unchecked plant growth and rattlesnakes. None of that was new to us: We
