ARTICLES Archives - Page 240 of 312

A Window on Our World

With a first glance at last month's cover of LandShapes, a colleague of mine said he thought it more properly belonged on the cover of an architecture magazine instead of on my landscape publication. It was beautiful, he said, but he felt that the dominance of the wall in the image made him wonder if he'd received the right magazine. In defending the choice of this photograph, I found myself flooded by all sorts of thoughts and considerations, many of them having to do with

Color Keys

Even though color is literally everywhere, most people know surprisingly little about it. That's a knowledge gap designers in particular should overcome, says artist, colorist and teacher Judith Corona, who adds that understanding the nature of color, how it influences moods and emotions and how a color wheel works are all useful when it comes to making valuable recommendations to clients about their watershapes and landscapes.

For years, says structural engineer Ron Lacher, pool builders have experienced failures of steps and benches in their concrete watershapes much too frequently. What’s been puzzling is that the majority of these failures have occurred in spa steps and benches – a mystery to which he has responded with a detailed investigation of the problem’s possible causes – and a simple, workmanship-based solution he offers here.

Bad Benchmarks

When you work with any type of concrete, there are right and wrong ways to do things - basic issues of workmanship that really do determine whether a structure will be reliable or not. In the case of swimming pools and spas built using pneumatically applied concrete - either shotcrete or gunite - there's a presumption in structural design that the concrete will cure to the strength specified, which, in the case of pools and spas, is typically 2,000 pounds per square inch. If that's not the case, these structures do not meet their specifications and may be subject to failure as a result. To achieve that desired level of strength, the concrete must be

Taking great pride in crafting watershapes that are as natural in appearance as possible, pond/stream specialist Steve Sandalis has developed a systematic approach that always guides him in the right directions. A case in point is the project discussed here, in which a thousand tons of stone, hundreds of feet of liner and countless plants came together to create a setting so amazingly romantic that its owner changed his mind about how to put it to use.

Graceful Cascades

It certainly doesn't happen very often, but sometimes the addition of a watershape can completely redefine the way a property is perceived. In the case seen here, a nine-acre estate in the mountains above of Malibu, Calif., was zoned for agriculture. The owner's intention in buying it was quite appropriate: He wanted to turn it into a working vineyard brought to life visually by a big stream, pond and waterfall system. Once the watershape took form, however, the owner was so inspired by what he saw that his vision for the property changed and he recast the place as a venue for weddings and other events that would be enhanced by the bucolic, utterly romantic surroundings. In a very direct way, in other words, the watershapes served to increase both the aesthetic and financial value of the property. I'm a romantic at heart, so the notion that the work on display here will be a backdrop for special, memorable occasions has made the big, complicated project even more

Watershaper and landscape designer John Cohen is an artist of unique passion. Fiercely dedicated to his craft, an uncompromising idealist and a self-described rebel, he has the uncanny ability to use his energy to unlock the creative spirit in his clients and sees water as a medium that can be used to transform both environments and lives for the better. Along the way, he satisfies a deep-seated urge to express himself in fresh and compelling ways.

Acting on Vision

Water is one of the few artistic media that has the ability to define the architecture of human emotion. In all its various forms, it has affected us in profound ways since the dawn of our species, generating powerful feelings and the sense that we are somehow transformed when we're in its presence. As watershapers, we have an ability to use that long anthropological and cultural heritage to our advantage and can actually change the world: The spaces we create will, if done well, generate experiences so powerful that all who enter these environments will forever be changed by the encounter. I see this as both a wonderful opportunity and a solemn obligation. We can take the rich history of water and all its cultural reverberations and essentially use this symphony of tradition and creative impetuosity to compose new experiences for everyone who sees our work. If it's our intention to change the world for the better - something I personally have always held in mind - we do our best when we base our work on traditions assembled throughout human history. Working in that context, we not only gain access to the insights of the geniuses who have gone before us but also

Sounds of Inspiration

As we move through the long, hot, busy days of summer, it may well be that, like me, you have difficulty finding the time to sit down and read. This is one of the reasons I've gotten into audio books lately: I listen to them while traveling from job to job, and I find they're a great way to keep my mind stimulated when I just can't find the time to concentrate on the printed page. In that spirit of aural stimulation, I thought I'd reach back to the origins of this special medium and listen again to a classic motivational piece I'd first heard 15 years ago from legendary self-help guru Earl Nightingale. Called The Strangest Secret (issued by Nightingale-Connant Corp.), the original recording was made way back in 1956, when Nightingale recorded his thoughts to help

Smart Steps

In a couple of my recent "Details," I've discussed the early stages of a wonderful project located on the waterfront of Long Beach Island, N.J. As is the case with many top-level jobs, this one required a great deal of work in the early going to make sure we were set up for complete success once the installation process was under way and the pool, spa and surrounding structures began to come together. Although the pool in question is a simple rectangle designed to function mainly as a subtle and elegant reflective surface, there are certain features within the "shape" of the shell that make it something special - and particularly relevant to how the clients

Please Fence Me In

Almost every landscape I've ever worked on has had some type of fence. I use them because they establish boundaries, but I also see them as having much more than a simple utilitarian function. To me, they set a stage for everything they enclose and, depending upon where you happen to be standing, encompass you within a space or invite you to appreciate the view from a distance. In this discussion, I want to focus on the use of fences you can easily see over - a fence that defines a boundary while allowing viewers on one side to see what it encircles and on the other to enjoy the space's visual imagery. By low, I mean 42 inches tall or lower - low enough not to require

A Project to Savor

It's easy to talk about watershapes and the creative and business philosophies that drive success, but to borrow a phrase: The proof is in the pool. In other words, it's one thing to talk about doing a good job, but it's another to step up and do it. The dynamics of that success are unusually complex when you participate in a project as the member of a team. As a case in point, I'll return to a semi-public watershape I first mentioned in my March 2006 column: It's now complete and is one of which I'm particularly proud. Located in Jamaica near Montego Bay at a property known as the Round Hill Hotel & Villas, it was a special sort of commercial project in that, being built outside the United States, it wasn't subject to

Important Steps

Sometimes the simple things make all the difference between success and failure. For all of the high-flown conceptualizing that drives much of what so many watershapers do these days, there's no escaping the need for attention to