ARTICLES Archives - Page 184 of 317

Broad Boundaries

Not long ago, I was reminded in a big way of the importance of understanding the international nature of our industry. It was July, and my Genesis 3 partners Skip Phillips and David Tisherman and I were on the Gold Coast near Brisbane, Australia, presenting a program at the Splash! Conference – an experience that, once again, underscored the fact that ours is not just a North American business, but is instead a global industry in which people worldwide share

Transferable Skills

To excel as professionals, watershapers need to develop a good working knowledge of a range of technical disciplines – hydraulics, materials science and geology, for example – and know the ins and outs of structural, electrical and mechanical engineering. No single person needs to have certified expertise in all of those fields, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that anyone who enters the watershaping realm needs to be conversant in the mix of disciplines he or she must coordinate if the goal of

When New Work Fails

When a problem occurs with a recently installed decorative concrete job, who is responsible? I understand that this is a loaded question and that there are lots of factors to consider, but the question still stands. This spring, while dealing with a rash of

Timeless Landscape Design

When I was a landscape architecture student, my coursework on residential landscape design wasn’t much to speak of — just one project in a single course. In those days, in fact, expressing any interest in residential spaces made you

A Doorway to Emotional Value

The true test of whether a watershape is well-conceived and well-built is what happens in the minds of the clients when they view the finished product. Not only should they appreciate the beauty of the work, they should also

Singing the Relief-Valve Blues

Let’s start this time with a key definition.In the deepest part of a typical pool, you ordinarily carve out a two-by-two-foot box and backfill it with gravel. On top of that gravel sits a valve designed to open when the water pressure outside the shell is

Ripples #6

Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck Neiman Marcus Offers$1.5 Million Dale ChihulySwimming-Pool Art If you have ever visited Las Vegas and found yourself at the registration desk of the opulent Bellagio Hotel and Casino, you are familiar with the artistry of Seattle-based glass sculptor Dale Chihuly, who was responsible for

Design from Italy to India

There was a time not long ago when most of my clients wanted swimming pool environments that were designed to suit a design theme of some sort that was separate and distinct from the house. It wasn’t unusual, for example, for clients here in Texas to ask for outdoor areas that replicated Rocky Mountain settings or tropical lagoons. Those projects still come along from time to time, but in the past few years, increasing numbers of my clients want

Revisiting Hearst Castle

In a previous edition of WaterShapes EXTRA!, I discussed the merits and deficiencies of Hearst Castle, and was quickly rewarded with a torrent of other peoples’ opinions. In all of the many comments I’ve seen, one thing is clear: Hearst Castle is

Bad Plot Plans, Big Changes

In the very early stages of a project, it isn’t unusual for the plot plans used for design concept/presentation purposes to be a bit off scale, sometimes by a fair amount. Many properties are difficult to map, and even in those cases where it might seem relatively simple to get things right, the fact that one person generally does the job alone isn’t