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In our business, when we talk about people with disabilities, we always put people first: We speak of "people with brain injuries," for instance, or "people with arthritis" or "people with spinal injuries." That's an important distinction, because the language informs the entire mindset needed to help them improve their situations in the most effective ways. For starters, this "people-first" approach helps us avoid misleading generalizations: Often, we find that two people with nominally similar conditions or disabilities will have significantly different needs and that the methods used to treat each may prove to be significantly different as well. Everything we do at the Brown Center, in other words, must be based on the individual's own
In our business, when we talk about people with disabilities, we always put people first: We speak of "people with brain injuries," for instance, or "people with arthritis" or "people with spinal injuries." That's an important distinction, because the language informs the entire mindset needed to help them improve their situations in the most effective ways. For starters, this "people-first" approach helps us avoid misleading generalizations: Often, we find that two people with nominally similar conditions or disabilities will have significantly different needs and that the methods used to treat each may prove to be significantly different as well. Everything we do at the Brown Center, in other words, must be based on the individual's own
Through the past 20 years or so, the vanishing-edge look has become perhaps the most recognizable hallmark of high-end, custom swimming pools. In that time, these vessels have gone from relatively rare to remarkably common. These days, in fact, it's a rare builder who doesn't have at least a handful of these projects in his or her portfolio. Unfortunately, this growth in the popularity of vanishing edges has been attended by a dramatic increase in problems with these structures, particularly on the outside surface of the freestanding wall that creates the elegant edge detail. The problems manifest themselves as cracks, surface delaminations, efflorescence and, in severe cases, as leaks. These are issues that have led to scores of dissatisfied homeowners and numerous potential
Through the past 20 years or so, the vanishing-edge look has become perhaps the most recognizable hallmark of high-end, custom swimming pools. In that time, these vessels have gone from relatively rare to remarkably common. These days, in fact, it's a rare builder who doesn't have at least a handful of these projects in his or her portfolio. Unfortunately, this growth in the popularity of vanishing edges has been attended by a dramatic increase in problems with these structures, particularly on the outside surface of the freestanding wall that creates the elegant edge detail. The problems manifest themselves as cracks, surface delaminations, efflorescence and, in severe cases, as leaks. These are issues that have led to scores of dissatisfied homeowners and numerous potential
From my first visit, I knew I'd be spending a lot of time here developing the watershapes and landscapes on this amazing site. Set on a bluff in Del Mar, Calif., the whole property slopes down from the street level to the back edge of the property. Beyond was an open space offering uninterrupted views of a river estuary, native coastal scrub studded with rare, indigenous, protected Torrey Pines and the Del Mar shoreline's pounding surf. There were also the spectacularly patterned cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park - a vista and set of colors that ultimately determined material choices for this project. It helped that I was completely at ease with
From my first visit, I knew I'd be spending a lot of time here developing the watershapes and landscapes on this amazing site. Set on a bluff in Del Mar, Calif., the whole property slopes down from the street level to the back edge of the property. Beyond was an open space offering uninterrupted views of a river estuary, native coastal scrub studded with rare, indigenous, protected Torrey Pines and the Del Mar shoreline's pounding surf. There were also the spectacularly patterned cliffs at Torrey Pines State Park - a vista and set of colors that ultimately determined material choices for this project. It helped that I was completely at ease with
As I've reported previously, the past few years have seen a proliferation of consumer-oriented books on custom swimming pools. Most put the emphasis on images rather than written information, but I don't object: They're generally loaded with beautiful, inspirational projects and terrific photography. In fact, I use many such publications as sources of ideas and frequently share them with clients as we move into the design phase. But I've found that I need to pick and choose within some of them: While the projects are often executed at a very high level, some aren't all that great. With that one occasional caveat, I've recently been through four of these books - and this time around, they all focus mainly on pools in
As I've reported previously, the past few years have seen a proliferation of consumer-oriented books on custom swimming pools. Most put the emphasis on images rather than written information, but I don't object: They're generally loaded with beautiful, inspirational projects and terrific photography. In fact, I use many such publications as sources of ideas and frequently share them with clients as we move into the design phase. But I've found that I need to pick and choose within some of them: While the projects are often executed at a very high level, some aren't all that great. With that one occasional caveat, I've recently been through four of these books - and this time around, they all focus mainly on pools in
In last month's introduction to what it takes to prepare for, organize and complete the excavation stage of the watershape-construction process, basic common sense was the governing factor in how the process should proceed. What I was discussing last time, however, was simple, flat-site excavations - cases in which access is commonly not an issue, soils are often consistent across a site and the potential surprises are relatively few. This time, my focus is an altogether different breed of excavations - that is, the task of preparing a sloping, hillside site for installation of a watershape. This process offers
In last month's introduction to what it takes to prepare for, organize and complete the excavation stage of the watershape-construction process, basic common sense was the governing factor in how the process should proceed. What I was discussing last time, however, was simple, flat-site excavations - cases in which access is commonly not an issue, soils are often consistent across a site and the potential surprises are relatively few. This time, my focus is an altogether different breed of excavations - that is, the task of preparing a sloping, hillside site for installation of a watershape. This process offers
