ARTICLES Archives - Page 102 of 312

Passion and Practicality

'If you ask my employees,' wrote Bruce Zaretsky in starting his July 2010 On the Level column, 'they'll tell you that I'm an unrelenting pain in the neck - a real tyrant. That's because I'm always asking nagging sorts of questions such as, "Why isn't this project finished yet?" or "How much longer is this going to take?" or "Can you speed things up?" 'My questions, of course, are somewhat unfair. . . . But I have no reluctance to come across as a tyrant

Righting a Hurtful Wrong

I came across this news item a couple weeks back and have wanted to share it with you ever since. Written by Suzanne Perez Tobias for the May 24 edition of the Wichita Eagle, it's about one person's response to the Kansas legislature's decision to prevent the state's needy citizens from using any public assistance money to go to public

The Aquatic Quiz #30

What Do a Japanese Zoo's Elephants Do After Swimming in Their New Pool?

His clients wanted a home that reflected their refined tastes, writes Randy Beard. The fact that, for a change, others were focused on the challenge of working on a difficult slope freed him to get everything just right with their large spa and understated entryway fountain.

Eastern Sensibilities

It's rare, but it happens: Every once in a while, a client's desires align perfectly with the capabilities of a watershape designer and builder - so much so that the collaboration becomes a study in how powerful creative harmony can be. This sort of synergy was a hallmark of the hillside project under discussion here. Early in the process, we were brought aboard to work on an unusually large spa as well as a small

Rocky Road

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I can sometimes look like a rock outcropping myself: Whatever it is, I love working with big chunks of stone in my pond projects. More than any single design element I can deploy, there is no other component that's more important when it comes to making my work look as though it's been there

While readily acknowledging that digital-design technology has forever changed his working life, Greg Smith also knows that the software is just one of several tools he uses to communicate the value and extent of what he wants to achieve in his clients' backyards.

A Path to Enlightenment

I started out on the construction side of the pool industry nearly 20 years ago. Back then, I probably experienced the building process a good 500 times, picking up insights into what determined the level of success of each project. As time passed, I found myself being drawn to the design side: I saw it as a way to put all of those insights to good use; more important, I knew it was where I could do the most good for homeowners. In making the transition, I

Working among the 300-year-old fountains in France's Gardens of Versailles was a bit intimidating, recalls David L'Heureux. But as he writes here, the delicate process of adding modern LED systems to enhance their nighttime appearance was also inspiring beyond measure.

Classic French

David L'Heureux For much of human history, those with power and wealth have been willing to put both on display in the places they choose to reside. There are palaces and great houses all over the planet, each one testifying to the grandeur of its owner and the talents of the architects and designers brought in to turn grand visions into actual structures and garden spaces. Often, those commissioning these conspicuous projects were members of

On the Beam

'Every single project I design and build,' wrote David Tisherman near the top of his Details column in July 2005, 'is fully, individually engineered, and I refuse to make any assumptions on my own about what might be needed in a set of plans to create a sound structure. If any builder anywhere thinks that he or she knows enough to get by without support from a structural engineer, well, that's just asking for trouble.' 'I know what I don't know, frankly, and I sleep well at night knowing that

A Prime-Time Network

You've all been peppered by my emails in recent weeks, and I'm sorry for that. But I think that letting you know about the WaterShapes Professional Network is important enough to burden you with a few special messages - including this one. So far, the most frequently asked questions have had to do with