ARTICLES Archives - Page 173 of 312

Ten Landscapes: The View East

For a long time now, I've been dismayed by what I see when certain of my fellow watershapers attempt to incorporate "natural" elements into their pool designs. The ubiquitous piles of rocks and the odd grottos slapped onto the ends of freeform pools are so common I can only conclude that

African-Americans and Swimming

By Lenny Giteck A study has shown that 60 percent of African-American children don't know how to swim - twice the rate for white children. And the rate at which black children drown in this country is three times the overall drowning rate for kids. The picture for African-American adults is similarly disturbing. What are the causes for this disparity? What are the solutions? Sadly, this problem has largely been

Tuning the Sound of Falling Water

In creating waterfalls, some watershapers don’t seem to realize is that you can precisely control the sound the falling water makes as it descends from level to another. My goal in paying attention to this detail is to take advantage of

The New Green Building Code

The state of Rhode Island and the city of Richland, Wash., recently adopted the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) as part of their building codes for commercial buildings. That might not sound important if you don’t happen to work in either of those small markets, but it’s the tip of a big green iceberg

Test Your Knowledge #3

Could You Walk Across a Pool Filled with Ping-Pong Balls?

Ripples #14

Compiled and Written by Lenny Giteck Mystery: Did UFO DrainArgentine Swimming Pool? According to a report on the Web site UFOdigest.com, the 16,000-gallon swimming pool at the Hotel Maykel in Justiniano Posse, Argentina, was inexplicably drained completely dry in less than a day. After being notified

Distinctive Touches, Big Impact

I do much of my work in the residential market, and it’s increasingly common for my clients to have relatively small yards for which they want something both unique and special. In those settings (and in larger ones as well, but often not as critically), I’ve found that it’s the small touches that make the most difference. Frequently, it’s these simple decorative elements that transform designs into

Clean Water for Kenyan Orphans

Just before the holiday season of 2010, we were contacted by Dr. Carolyn Rowley, the vice president and chief financial officer at the watershape-control manufacturer Gilderfluke & Co. (Burbank, Calif.). She is also founder of the Machao Orphanage, a facility located about 100 kilometers outside Nairobi, Kenya, in the rural region of Makuini. Makuini is a place where more than 60 percent of the 1.8 million who live there exist

Test Your Knowledge #2

Who first used the crawl stroke in a swimming event?

Natural Pools: Safe for Swimming?

We’ve been conditioned in the United States to think that the only safe water is water that has been sanitized by powerful chemicals and/or devices using ozone or ultraviolet light. In fact, it seems that our industry has promulgated a doctrine that we need to