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It's not what I'd call a common request these days, but every now and then I come across homeowners who want to be able to sit in the water to enjoy a cool drink or even a meal. It gets hot in Texas, after all, and these folks figured that relaxing under an umbrella around an in-pool table would be a great way to beat the heat. It's actually a decent concept, but just as is the case with the stools we sometimes set up for swim-up bars, the designer or builder needs to
I can't begin to count the number of times our watershaping writers have explored the topic of travel, either as the source of clearer thinking or for the inspirational value of seeing how others have addressed specific design, engineering or construction challenges - or how Mother Nature
CDC Reveals What Really Causes Cases of 'Red Eyes' in Swimmers
As all professional designers know, prospective clients can be unpredictable. Sometimes they get in sync with what we're doing right away, and it seems every step is a positive one. Other times, however, they can be slower to figure things out, and the process can become more complicated. I started working for a pool-construction company soon after graduating from college with a degree in industrial design. This was before
Every year, it seems, there's a new trend we have to deal with as designers. Once it was beach entries, another time it was container gardens. For a while, it was all about outdoor kitchens; fire features enjoyed their time in the sun as well. To be sure, each of those once-trendy pursuits has had staying power, and I still hear from clients about
On a big project such as the one we're covering in this video series, the rocks needed to give the cascades a natural look are quite substantial - some in the 36-inch range or larger, with weights rising to a ton or more in a few cases. Handling these brutes takes reliable equipment as well as distinct skill in working with
'For years,' wrote David Tisherman in his Details column in the June 2005 issue of the magazine, 'people have asked me where I get my ideas - pools raised out of the ground, the small spillways, the drain details, the modular deck treatments, the color usage and the use of reflection, to name just a few. "Through my design education" is the short answer, of course, but I can get more specific if we take a look at
Many years ago, a gentleman by the name of Jack McNairy said something during a meeting of the National Spa & Pool Institute's Board of Directors that has always stuck with me. It was in the late 1980s or very early '90s, when Jack was running his distribution business in Texas and also publishing a
1965 Harvard Swimmers Defeat 2015 Swim Team in Relay Race!
I lived in Cleveland at a point when I was too young to remember a thing about the place: We moved there when I was ten months old and stayed for about a year. But I've always considered it as one of my several "home towns" and have been back there twice since we moved away in 1957, both times on business - and both times before I became involved with watershaping.
Just the same, as an art history enthusiast and fan of impressive sculpture, I had my breath taken away by "The Fountain of Eternal Life." Dedicated in 1964, it was designed and executed by Marshall Fredericks, a resident of Michigan but a 1930 graduate of the Cleveland School of Art. The fountain serves as an inspiring memorial to residents of the city who died in conflicts reaching all the way back to the Spanish-American War.
It wasn't that inclusive when I first saw it in 1978 and again a few years later: Originally, the bronze plates surrounding the rim of the fountain memorialized only casualties of World War II and the Korean War. This recognition has since been expanded on a couple of occasions to include all Clevelanders who've died in defense of their country in the span from 1899 to, so far, 2014.
The testimony of sacrifice as witnessed by the names is moving, but the sculptures within the fountain are quietly but utterly inspirational. The central figure, which rises high above the basin and stands on a representation of the earth engulfed in flames, signifies the spirit of mankind rising above the destruction of war and reaching hopefully for a new and enduring comprehension of the value of life. The four granite sculptures at the base represent the world's civilizations and express a general desire for a global future free of war.
I haven't been back to Cleveland in many years, but I know that, when and if I return, one of my first stops will involve revisiting this fountain.
It was meaningful and impressive enough when I first saw it, but the continued addition of names is a reminder that, for all of our aspirations, for all of our sacrifices as friends and relations of wars' casualties, we can't seem to realize Fredericks' idealistic dream.
It's a humbling space - a graceful, monumental sculpture and a gracious, inspirational reminder that we are all in this together.
To see a brief video of the fountain in action, click here. The narration is a bit, well, distracting, so turn the sound down and watch: The images are just fine.