ARTICLES Archives - Page 193 of 315

Up on the Roof

Like it or not, we’re all on the front lines of the environmental sustainability movement. In fact, as shapers of water and land, few are in better positions than we are to make a difference, with many of us frequently working alongside architects, municipal officials and developers and being asked to design and implement green approaches that minimize a given project’s effects on its surrounding environs. As I see it, this offers us not only a golden opportunity to shape the future of land development and architecture, but also to rise from

Deficits of Trust

The Harvard Business Review recently published results of an interesting survey: Overall, they said, some 75 percent of those contacted reported diminishing trust in U.S. business managers and their companies; moreover, their faith in educational institutions, product suppliers and government is on the decline as well – but not to quite such an extent. It all seems gloomy and pessimistic, but I couldn’t be surprised by the findings. In fact, I can

Reasons to Believe

Although I’ve done it on a couple occasions through the past 11 years, I’ve always had trouble writing columns that welcome a New Year – even when times have been good and there have been reasons aplenty for lavish doses of optimism. I just don’t like clichés, and they’re amazingly difficult to avoid when you look to the future with

An Enduring Resource

Soon after we published our first-ever Resource Directory last December, we received this comment from a reader: “Thanks for pulling this together. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to work with the big, fat buyer’s guides other magazines put together and sift through all the stuff I really don’t care about to dig out a few important nuggets. I do have a complaint, however: Why’d you take so long to

It’s an unusually large lap pool in a prime spot in the client’s yard, notes watershape artist David Tisherman, but there was no desire to have it dominate the space. That’s why he worked with simple geometry, recessed the pool below the prevailing grade, organized a muted color palette and used warm, beautiful stone: It was all about having the watershape blend into its environment when it wasn’t being used by its avid swimmer/owner.

Linear Grace

As a rule, I avoid working for contractors: I’ve found that far too many of them spend so much time worrying about the bottom line that they lose sight of the fact that their clients want quality rather than compromises. I’ve also found that their general caution is often at its worst when it comes to watershapes: Even though these structures may be key components of the overall project, they tend to come along late in the process and are all too often seen as places where corners can be cut to meet overall budget goals. Frankly, I’ve never liked being treated as a pawn or second-class citizen, so I avoid these situations like the plague. Instead, I typically work directly for homeowners and refuse to subordinate my part of a project to the whims of another contractor. Any worthwhile rule, however, has

When observed as it exists in nature, notes Sven Schunemann, water’s various forms and rhythms can be captured and reproduced by watershapers. He and other Flowforms sculptors have raised that bar, however, digging deep into water’s physical dynamics and developing precise, specialized water/ sculpture systems that are visually intriguing – and also lay claim to being a form of treatment that naturally enhances water’s capacity to nourish.

Forming Flows

I was out of a job in Gloucester, England, several years back when I came across a collection of wonderfully unusual sculptures that changed my life. These compositions, called Flowforms, were the work of British sculptor John Wilkes, an inspired artist who for most of his professional life has explored ways to use water’s nature and characteristics as his medium. I was immediately drawn to what I saw: I’d worked as an estate gardener before being trained as a sculptor at the St. Martin School of Art in London and had always had an interest in natural forms and all sorts of experimental media. I had also spent a good part of

When it comes to common watershaping challenges with direct, practical design/construction solutions, says Paolo Benedetti, few are as significant as keeping surface waves from inundating the vaults set up for automatic pool covers. Here, he defines a simple approach in which redesigning the skimmer niche and lowering the waterline level not only saves water, but also prevents damage to the cover and its driving mechanisms.

Covering Levels

Automatic swimming pool covers are wonderful in a number of ways: They increase safety, save energy, limit evaporative water losses, keep debris out of a pool and can even reduce chemical consumption. As a watershaper, I want these devices to be trouble-free so they will perform with nothing more than routine maintenance and my clients can

The renowned landscape architecture firm of Oehme, van Sweden & Associates has long advocated the concept of The New American Garden, an approach based on respect for native plants, local materials and a project’s particular context. Water is frequently a key feature in these spaces, explains Eric D. Groft, not only for its aesthetic potential but also because it puts the people who enter these spaces in desirable frames of mind.

A Sense of Place

In his book Gardening with Water, James van Sweden called water “the heart of the garden.” I’ve had the privilege of working with him and his partner, Wolfgang Oehme, since 1986, and all of us at Oehme, van Sweden & Associates (Washington, D.C.) share an appreciation for the simple profundity of our founding partner’s words that is clearly reflected in the way we use water. To be sure, we occasionally design gardens without water, but more often it’s a key part of what we do and serves as a powerful foil to plants, hardscape, art and architecture. We enthusiastically take advantage of the way it brings contrasts, reflections and sounds to spaces and exploit its ability to define destinations, invite recreation or provide gathering spaces. We also work closely with all of the psychological associations it conjures within human beings – feelings of tranquility or excitement as well as sensations of the raw, regenerative power of nature. In our work, which spans the full spectrum of residential, commercial, public and institutional settings, fully 80 percent include watershapes in some form, from lily ponds, rills or cascades to formal fountains or swimming pools. Occasionally these are stand-alone features, but when the situation permits, we’ll use them in

Touches of Humility

One of the things I love about my chosen profession is that no two days are exactly alike: Instead of installing the same design in the same way day after day, I’m constantly forging ahead, taking new paths, moving in new directions. With these explorations come many opportunities to learn new techniques and work through new ideas. And I like the fact that I’ve built a reputation as someone who enjoys pushing the envelope and trying out approaches I haven’t

The Road Traveled

Just recently, I spent some time looking through an issue of WaterShapes published in 2003. I won’t name names, but one of the articles was about a custom installation that was labeled as “luxurious” – and I was struck by the fact that, by today’s standards, it wasn’t really anything very special. Make no mistake: This magazine has had a great deal to do with advancing our industry, and I have no doubt that, six years ago, the project that caught my eye was at or near