ARTICLES Archives - Page 289 of 326

Pool builders mostly use some form of reinforced concrete in setting up their watershapes. By contrast, the majority of landscapers and pond builders rely on liners to create their bodies of water. Rubber liners may suit certain low-budget situations, observes Douglas Roth, an expert in the art of Japanese gardening, but when it comes to creating high-quality naturalistic waterfeatures, he says, rubber liners come up short. (Photo courtesy Jim Lampl Landscape Service, Allison Park, Pa.)

The Trouble with Liners

As modern building materials have been developed, we humans have been remarkably proficient at applying them in ways that go well beyond the vision of their inventors. Such is the case with roofing membranes, which now are widely used as liners for backyard streams and ponds. It's understandable that landscape designers and contractors have taken to these rubber liners. After all, they make pond and stream construction inexpensive and easy. But from the perspective of the Japanese gardener or quality watershaper, convenience and affordability alone do not qualify a material for use. Instead, standards of durability and enduring

Of all watershapes now being installed in public settings, dry-deck fountains are among of the most popular – and for good reason, says fountain expert Jon Mitovich. Their simplicity of appearance, dynamic interactive quality, compelling accessibility and basic safety have all increased the demand for these displays, he says, noting that they’ve quickly gone from novelty status to become a dominant strain in the evolution of contemporary waterfeatures.

Curbless Appeal

Just as with species in the animal kingdom, architectural construction styles and techniques evolve over time, adapting to changes in the environment. In the case of fountains, these evolutionary transitions have been both complex and indicative of broader trends. Ancient wellsprings, for example, eventually gave way to decorative fountains with intricately carved stone sculptures. More recently, monolithic block, walled and stepped fountain forms have held sway. It's not much of a stretch to say that the latest significant "mutation" in this remarkable lineage is the dry-deck fountain: At a time when open space is at a premium and the public is being invited as never before to interact and participate in the architectural landscape, dry-deck fountains may well be the

Toward an American Architecture

"True form is always organic in character." -- Frank Lloyd Wright I never studied Frank Lloyd Wright in school, but I've been intrigued by his work and design philosophy for years and had long intended to fill this gap in my education on my own. But that's proved to be easier said than done because of the huge number of books about him: There are simply so many of them that I never knew where or how to start. This dilemma came to an abrupt end when I ran across a book written in Wright's own hand. That book, An American Architecture, was first published in 1955 by Horizon Press and was reissued by Barnes & Noble in 1998. Edited by Edgar Kaufmann, the text is a compilation of Wright's notes, speeches and lectures spanning

Out, Back and Under

It's not too unusual to replace all of the plumbing, equipment and electrical lines as part of a swimming pool renovation project. It's quite another story, however, when you need to make sure all of it happens without disrupting the deck surrounding the vessel. As mentioned in my last two "Details," that's precisely what we've been asked to do in renovating a 70-year-old pool in the historic Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. The presence of a beautiful, valuable, imported limestone deck means that we've had to do all of our work from inside

Lavender

Few plants have been written about, lingered over and so passionately associated with fragrance, healing and serenity as lavender. Beyond stunning beauty of the sort seen in the vast purple fields of Provence, lavender has spread worldwide, leaving a trail of exquisite aroma and touching everything from our imaginations to our health. Some say lavender has pain-killing, antiseptic and skin-rejuvenating properties and that it's great for toning skin, fighting acne and soothing burns and cuts. This versatile plant is used as well to infuse perfumes, oils and soaps, and I know from my own experience that it makes a great marinade for lamb and adds

Fair Exchange

During the five years I've been writing this column for WaterShapes, I've been asked by a number of people how I manage to find the time to write this column, make presentations at trade shows, teach at Genesis 3 schools and conduct my own design/consulting business. I get the distinct impression that these questions have much less to do with curiosity about the power of time management than with questions about why I'd even bother to extend my focus beyond my primary business of

Information Access

Coming up in New Orleans - first during the American Society of Landscape Architects' Expo (November 1-2) and later that same week at the International Pool & Spa Expo (November 5-6) - we'll be giving show attendees a special opportunity to

Proportional Response

One of the real tricks in any art form can be the challenge of exercising restraint. Bigger isn't always better, and both scale and size do matter. In other words, just because you can create something grand, it doesn't always mean that you should. This principle of proportionality has a sharp, specific meaning in the world of the custom watershaper, especially when clients ask for something that is oversized for the property or more elaborate than called for by the setting or surrounding architecture. We all know where it comes from: Clients have seen something they like, and it

Collegiate athletic centers are more significant than ever before because fitness and recreation are increasingly important components of modern students’ lifestyles, observe architects Edwin M. Wallover III and William R. B. McCullough. That trend, they add, drives a need to make such facilities as flexible as possible – which is just what they accomplished in designing and building Bucknell University’s spectacular new aquatic center.

Where the Bison Swim

The Arthur D. Kinney Natatorium was designed with a practical mission in mind: From the outset, the facility was intended to provide long-term performance, outstanding aesthetics, ease of operation and minimal maintenance life cycles while enhancing the university's recruiting efforts and fostering individual and team achievement. In this case, however, the "individuals" aren't just star athletes pursuing records and titles. Rather, the natatorium on Bucknell University's Lewisburg, Pa., campus is unique in the sense that the school chose not to segregate varsity athletes from general student/recreational users. Indeed, the facility, part of the university's grand Kenneth G. Langone Athletics & Recreation Center, is designed to bring everyone

Contemporary artist Eric Orr and his protégé, Sean So, both use the flow of water to lend texture and bring distinction to basic, geometric forms. For them, these small flows embody ‘transformation,’ which stands as the ideological core of the Light and Space Movement they both represent. Here, So explains the tradition and creative essence of the movement and brings it into perspective as part of today’s commercial waterfeature market.

Light, Space and Water

The Light and Space Movement first emerged in the beachfront community of Venice, Calif., during the 1960s, when a group of artists collectively began to explore and redefine the way art was observed and appreciated. Leaders of the movement - painter and sculptor Eric Orr; Robert Irwin, who later designed the gardens at the Getty Center in Los Angeles; and environmental artist James Turrell - started by breaking down the transformative processes of art and minimalism, defining the character of their movement through