ARTICLES Archives - Page 178 of 312

Ripples #7

Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck Woman Pleads Guilty in BizarreSwimming-Pool-for-Murder Plot Ripples notes with astonishment the case of an Indiana woman who offered her used aboveground swimming pool (plus $200 "in gas money") as payment to kill her

The Color of Uniqueness

Note: This book review was first published in the November 2008 issue of WaterShapes. Given what has happened in the economy since then, we think the book is just as relevant today as it was then — perhaps even more so. As 2008 draws to a close, it’s apparent that we are

How Pool Builders Can Avoid Being Sued

Interview by Eric Herman Through the past quarter-century, Skip Phillips - owner of Questar Pools in Escondido, Calif., and one of the founders of The Genesis 3 Design Group - has served as an expert witness in more than 300 lawsuits involving pool construction. He estimates that

Well-Grounded in Electrical Safety

Do you really know the difference between grounding and bonding? If you do, great. But the truth is that most people — including lots of construction-oriented watershapers who should know better — do not understand this fundamental distinction, which is why this

Presentation Secrets

You hear it all the time these days: Now is the time to improve all aspects of what you do for a living. I’ve taken that message to heart and, in striving to upgrade all facets of my work as a watershaper, have come to a somewhat shocking realization: For all of the countless presentations I’ve made to clients, I’ve never taken a critical, disciplined look at that part of my job. In college, of course, I was forced to make presentations about class projects, but the focus was always on the design and not on the presenting. Indeed, my instructors reinforced the point that it wasn’t how you presented ideas, but instead the

One of the most unusual watershape systems ever built, the AquaTheater on the recently launched Oasis of the Seas is the first theatrical waterfeature ever installed on a cruise ship. In this special two-in-one article, Fluidity’s Jim Garland and Tom Yankelitis begin with a description of the ideas and the design process that led to creation of this shipboard super-fountain, then Crystal Fountains’ Ritesh Khetia discusses the engineering and systems-integration solutions that make it all work.

A Hit on the High Seas

Part I: Setting the Course Theatrical vitality has to do with structuring stories and creating dramatic narratives that establish sensations of expectation, surprise and reward. It also involves the development of sympathetic, interesting characters as well as engagement in “the moment” – the feeling that a special and wonderful entertainment experience is unfolding before the audience in a specific time and place. Mastering all of that is a tall order under ordinary circumstances, so you can imagine how we felt in trying to help make it happen on the exposed, unpredictable stern deck of Oasis of the Seas – a prestigious ship that currently claims the title of world’s largest cruise liner. Fluidity – a Los Angeles-based water design studio – pursues unique, progressive projects for an international clientele that includes architects, landscape architects, civic institutions and real estate developers. Through the years, we’d had considerable experience with theatrical

Casting Nature

Decorative-concrete artist Tommy T. Cook has built a reputation for being able to create almost anything from concrete using an array of highly refined and boldly artful processes. In this feature, he demonstrates a portion of that skill by describing how he uses the gargantuan Gunnera plant to craft watershapes in which replicas of the plant’s outsized leaves serve as uniquely natural fountain basins and spillways. Ask anyone who’s tried and it’s almost certain you’ll hear that replicating nature isn’t easy. That hasn’t stopped artists throughout history from trying, however, or from making natural forms an influential source of artistic imagination and ambition. The great thing about using nature for inspiration is that it’s all around us and all we need to do to draw on it is open our eyes, make good choices and decide how what we see can be used in our creative endeavors. In my case, I’d worked in decorative concrete for a long time before nature crawled under my skin. It began when

The process of installing swimming pools in high-rise buildings presents a number of challenges not found in standard inground projects, notes commercial pool specialist William N. Rowley. To illustrate that point, he discusses what went into crafting two spectacular pools for Los Angeles’ new L.A. Live complex, where special concerns about leaks, noise, weight, maintenance and basic project execution all came prominently into play.

High-Rise Performance

There’s no denying the difficulty of building a high-quality inground pool, but the welcome fact is that the earth can conceal a range of little imperfections, from small leaks to minor structural defects. When you build a pool or some other watershape above grade as an integral component of a multi-story building, however, everything you do is magnified because the work is always exposed. Essentially, you lose the margin for error that might be possible with an inground installation. This past spring, work was completed on two high-rise watershapes our firm engineered as part of L.A. Live, a multi-purpose, entertainment-oriented complex situated near the Staples Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center in downtown Los Angeles. The pool/spa combinations were placed on the fourth and twenty-sixth floors, and although they have simple rectangular forms, they represent the absolute

In the long-awaited conclusion to our coverage of a grand, comprehensive exterior-design project in Texas, landscape architect Michael Percy guides us through a property where his firm dealt with every conceivable detail, from the entry drive and graciously secluded courtyard to the beautiful swimming pool with its unusual spiraling backdrop, the lavish dining and recreation areas and the wonderfully hidden rock-lined spa.

The Finishing Twist

Among the most gratifying of all projects are those in which designers are able to forge links between different areas of a property, creating an unfolding, choreographed experience that generates notes of anticipation along with reassuring sensations of comfort and familiarity. In our work at Root Design Company (Austin, Texas), we’ve found that water is a powerful tool in defining those sorts of connections within a property, whether it is used in bold ways, as with fountains or swimming pools, or as subtler secondary or tertiary elements, including runnels or small waterspouts. In the project depicted here, we used multiple watershapes within architectural spaces that organize those settings and bring motion and continuity to the overall space. It all ties together visually, with each path leading to intriguing destinations that serve as rewarding visual experiences for anyone who visits. As we see it, the key ingredient in this project was our client, who understood

Green Horizons

Although they’re occasionally the focus of media attention in North America, green roofs and their potential benefits are still relatively unknown quantities unless you happen to be a landscape architect or architect. In this commentary, Steven Peck and Damon van der Linde of Green Roofs for Healthy Cities aim to expand that base to include all watershapers – professionals, they say, who can play key roles in spreading the influence of these systems. Just think of it: There’s a design approach that improves energy efficiency, reduces the urban “heat island” effect and provides much-needed green space in places where opportunities for natural stress relief are