ARTICLES Archives - Page 205 of 312

Everywhere Pools

For the past few years, I’ve made a practice of offering occasional roundups of books that feature swimming pools as their star attractions. As I’ve mentioned before, there was a time when such publications simply did not exist – but now we seem to be in an era when pools are hot and a visit to a good bookstore will reveal a plethora of relevant titles covering a remarkably wide range of projects and styles. As with swimming pools themselves, of course, the books dedicated to them vary widely in quality and creativity: Some are truly wonderful, while others are of marginal value and offer little by way of useful ideas. I take all of them, however, as evidence that booksellers have noticed increasing consumer interest in highly imaginative swimming pools. I further believe that this interest has developed because so many of today’s watershapers are willing to push forcefully at the boundaries of creativity. [ ] Let’s start with

Keys to Consistency

Professionals often seek ways to distinguish themselves in their chosen fields of endeavor. For watershapers and others who work in design- and construction-related disciplines, one prized distinction is consistency when it comes to drawings: It’s something that makes them easier to work with and more valued as collaborators. Indeed, established firms repeatedly use the same drafting conventions, project after project, to a point where their plans become known and well-regarded for being easy to understand – and their projects much easier to

Stone Stepping

Stairs, to borrow an immortal phrase from Rodney Dangerfield, “get no respect.” In fact, if my observations through the years tell me anything, the stairs set in far too many landscapes are strictly utilitarian objects – no more than a means of getting from one level of a space to another. The only thought that seems to go into some of them has to do with avoiding trip hazards, which is important but hardly the most aesthetically oriented of approaches to take. In my experience, when stairs are considered in deliberate and creative ways, they can become

Border Crossings

It seems to be a trend: In more and more of the conversations I’ve been having with watershapers, the level of interest in what’s involved in working overseas has really spiked in recent weeks and months. I recall a time several years back when curiosity about overseas work focused on the glamour and excitement of stepping into uncharted territory. Now, however, there’s a certain urgency to the inquiries, and my guess is there are at least three reasons behind it. First, there’s the enduring sense of the prestige and energy that

Thinking Differently

Not long ago, a friend and I were talking the about worn-out phrases, and “thinking outside the box” was one of them. As he pointed out, it’s remarkably ironic that we now use a cliché to

Watershaper and landscape architect Kathy Marosz relies on two words to describe her installation of a wildly elaborate watershape complex in the hills of north San Diego County: unending complexity. Here, in her second article on this outsized project, she digs into the intricacies of a unique hydraulic network that gives the homeowner a dazzlingly broad set of options to pursue while enjoying his 90,000-gallon backyard paradise.

Layering the Experience

It’s a project I won’t soon forget, believe me. In the April 2008 issue of WaterShapes, I offered the first of what ultimately will be three articles on an enormously ambitious project I began working on more than two years ago. In that span, I’ve found myself taking whatever solace I can from the fact that everyone who’s become involved with the project (or has even heard about it in any detail) concedes that it’s probably the most complicated backyard watershape they’ve ever encountered. Last time, I covered the scope of the project in general terms, outlining the design-development process and rolling through some of the more intricate details of the early construction phases. This time, we’ll move along to take a close look at the multiple water systems and effects and the hydraulic approaches needed to make them all work. (In thinking things through in preparation for writing this article, I began to suspect that there might be enough here to fill a small book; being a merciful soul, however, I’ll stick to the key points and keep things moving.) To recap briefly: The project features

Every year since 2003, Ed Beaulieu has led a cadre of Aquascape’s pond installers in building temporary watergarden exhibits for Disney’s Epcot Center in Orlando, Fla., in conjunction with the park’s annual International Flower & Garden Show. The program, he says, represents not only a great opportunity to expose millions of visitors to the joys and beauties of watergardening, but is also something of a celebration for the installers.

Magic to Do

One person’s error is often another’s opportunity – and that’s exactly how my relationship with Disney’s Epcot Center began. The famous Florida theme park has held its International Flower & Garden Show in the spring for many years now, and one of the festival’s more popular highlights has long been the program’s “Water Garden Wonders” exhibit. A local Floridian pond contractor had always taken care of the waterfeatures for the show, but after a series of problems, officials at Disney decided to make a change and I was contacted to see if our company, Aquascape of St. Charles, Ill., would be interested in taking over the pond-construction duties. I was immediately on board with the idea. After all, how do you say no to

Increasing Access

The benefits of swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise are better defined and more widely known than ever before, notes Dr. Bruce Becker, one of the nation’s top researchers into all the good things that happen when people get in the water. But there are a number of obstacles that are keeping some of those who would benefit from actually getting in the water to help themselves, he adds – a surmountable set of issues he explores here. It seems obvious enough. To reap the physical and psychological benefits of swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise and therapy, a person must first get into the water. Experience shows, however, that this initial step is often not

Water and works of art have been near-constant companions for millennia, but that traditional pairing seems to be generating new enthusiasm, says watershape designer/builder Randy Beard, with more and more property owners seeking to make unique statements by putting artworks on display in and around water. He takes a look at this emerging trend here, using a number of his recent projects in southern California to illustrate the point.

Forms and Figures

As watershape design expands beyond the mostly recreational traditions of the recent past, more of us are being asked these days to design water elements that work more decoratively and serve to frame, reflect and otherwiseaccentuate or accompany art pieces. In these situations, a pool, fountain or basin design is visually driven by the artwork, and whether the project is done for a private residence or a commercial complex, the results can be wonderfully dynamic. In most cases, requests for this design approach come from an owner who has a particular piece in mind; in a few other cases, the artist will commission a watershape to accompany a main attraction of his or her devising and becomes a key participant in the design process. All in all, I see this as another manifestation of a trend in which

Finding Fitness

For a good while now, I’ve been on the lookout for books that define the health benefits of swimming and other forms of aquatic exercise. I’ve largely come up empty, with only a couple of worthy exceptions. It’s been important to me for two reasons: First, I’m convinced (as others in this magazine have argued) that the watershaping industry is doing both itself and its clients a disservice by not promoting the remarkable healthfulness of aquatic activity. I think this is a deficit we desperately need to address – and also that this effort must begin on a solid base of knowledge and fact. Second, as I progress through my forties, I’m finding that running is becoming more and more difficult because of hip problems; my intention is to turn to the water to maintain my physical fitness, but I want to know more about it and how to do it right. So far, the best resource for information about swimming I’ve found is The Complete Book of Swimming by Dr. Phillip Whitten (Random House, 1994). It’s older than some other volumes I’ve found, but I think it’s the best because