ARTICLES Archives - Page 188 of 315

Low Bidders: A Cancer on Commerce

Although many people steadfastly defend their efforts at becoming a project's low bidder by saying, "There's just no other way to bring in the business," the sad fact is that this practice is a cancer — one that degrades the product, leaves the clients unhappy and diminishes

Structured Thinking

It might sound a bit strange to put it this way, but when it comes to design work, one of the most useful things you can do is to think about how you think about design. If you're like me and have been working as a watershape designer for more years than you care to count, much of what you do is now

A Precious Resource

It's human nature: We often neglect the quality and profound importance of that which fulfills our most basic needs. At a minimum, we expect breathable (if not clean) air, abundant food, warm beds, companionship, clothing and, especially, clean water. We take these and other "commodities" for granted because they come in abundant supply — so when issues arise, they tend to

Becoming Wise

"A smart man learns from his own mistakes, a wise man learns from the mistakes of others." If you follow that Latin proverb, then you might conclude that the watershaping industry is populated by a fair number of smart people and a few wise ones. There are others out there, however, who

A Story in Stone

Through the years, my experience in designing and building naturalistic and architectural watershapes has led me into several situations in which my clients have wanted to use a special heirloom or artifact of some kind as

A Fountain of Watershaping Insights

An Interview by Lenny Giteck Jon Mitovich is president and general manager of Roman Fountains, a designer and manufacturer of fountain-system packages and components based in Albuquerque, N.M. Mitovich has conducted classes and seminars on the fountain business and fountain design to help watershapers understand the origin, history and application of water in architectural environments. He also has

All About Soils

Through the past several years, I've witnessed a debate among people in the watershaping industry about whether every construction project should require soils and geology reports as part of every design and engineering process. Most of my colleagues who work in the custom, quality-oriented end of the business will

With Your Own Eyes

If you want to gain a full appreciation for classic fountains, pools or waterfeatures, you really do need to pack your bags: Seeing their beauty, power and subtlety at first hand gives us the opportunity to

Architectural Thought

It might sound a bit strange to put it this way, but when it comes to design work, one of the most useful things you can do is to think about how you think about design. If you’re like me and have been working as a watershape designer for more years than you care to count, much of what you do is now second nature. But if you think back to the way it was when you first started – and if you’re anything like me – little or none of what you did felt natural or easy. In my case, I had to process every step methodically, sometimes awkwardly and even painfully on occasion. That’s why I wish, back in those early days, that I’d

Of all the structures at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West, the triangular reflection/swimming pool may be the most iconic – a highlight on a campus that is itself a monument to modern architecture. But the watershape hadn’t been touched since the 1960s and was in need of a serious cosmetic update, which is why watershaper Thomas Lopez was called in to install new tile, fresh plaster and a new equipment set – and do it all in a hurry.

Refurbishing Wright’s Triangle

I grew up in the Phoenix area and have known about Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West all my life. It was kind of unavoidable: One of the major streets here is named after Wright; the area is marked by examples of architecture that directly reflect his influence; and pretty much everyone in town knows that it was the place Wright used as a summer home while teaching his numerous protégés about his approaches to project design and execution. For my part, however, my closest association with the facility had to do with the fact that my dad routinely delivered produce to the 600-acre facility and often shared stories about the unusual buildings and the occasionally eccentric people he met there. Several decades passed in which I became a watershaper who specializes in contemporary designs, but until quite recently I had never been to Taliesin West. That seems crazy given its vast influence on design in this region, but I made up for my information deficit in a big way last November, after I received a call from a representative of the facility who wanted to speak with me about restoring the facility’s famous