ARTICLES Archives - Page 290 of 326

The concepts involved in setting up fully enclosed swimming pools seem pretty straightforward, observes indoor watershaping specialist Kevin Ruddy. But appearances can be deceiving, he adds, and the situation you encounter in balancing water temperature, air temperature and relative humidity can go from bad to worse in a hurry if you discover, much to a client’s dismay, that you aren’t completely sure of what you’re doing.

Inside Air

It seems so simple: No matter whether it's a residential or commercial project, the design parameters for indoor swimming pools generally call for warm water (typically 82 degrees, or a bit less for a competition pool), air temperature two to four degrees warmer than the water, and a relative humidity in the enclosed space of between 55% and 60%. And it wasn't some committee of pool builders who came up with those figures: The numbers are endorsed and published by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration & Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and have been accepted as

Overseeing the design and installation of naturalistic, mostly large-scale watershapes for high-end developers and residential clients in the Salt Lake City area is clearly a passion for Derk Hebdon. Since he arrived in town three years ago and helped establish Bratt Inc.’s waterfeatures unit (which he now owns), he’s watched strong local market emerge and rise to a level where the watershapes are truly worthy of their dramatic surroundings.

Making the Wild Waters Flow

Graced by an abundance of beautiful, natural streams, cascades, rivers and lakes spread across spectacular native landscapes, Utah is a dream location for watershapers. Not only is there a rising demand for crafted streams, ponds and cascades that look like they really belong, but the state itself is also a genuine design laboratory. Indeed, I send our crews out into the "wild" periodically to do nothing more than hike up and down local watercourses to see how Mother Nature does things. These waterways are

Periodic Resources

As a reader of WaterShapes, it's likely you appreciate the valuable information published by quality magazines. I certainly do, so in addition to the steady diet of books I read to keep up on technical and design issues as well as business approaches and philosophies, I also turn to a handful of periodicals for the helpful and inspiring information they have to offer. For one thing, I find that these magazines fill gaps I perceive in my own background. For another - and even though some of the ones I read run far afield of the industry-specific information I value in trade magazines - I'm uniquely surprised by

Core Conditions

If the art of watershaping is ultimately about visuals, then creating a situation for yourself in which you're virtually guaranteed to create visual disruptions is something you certainly do not want to do. That's the situation I currently face in the renovation of a pool at a stunning, 1920s-vintage home in the heart of Los Angeles. As I indicated in my last column, it's a remarkably beautiful setting that features a 70-year-old pool that was well designed, expertly installed, well worth keeping - and surrounded by

Going Grey

Nobody seems particularly thrilled by environments devoid of light. Even at times when a lack of light is welcomed - as in the desert when you want to see the stars, or on a holiday night when you want to see a fireworks display - the events are related to light in some important way. The same attitude about light comes up when we speak of landscapes. We're always talking about "brightening up" a dark corner, for example, or "adding light" at one point or another. Whether the absence of light makes us uncomfortable or its presence is simply a

Almost Too Easy

It's a wonderful coincidence and a rare opportunity: From October 30 through November 3, the American Society of Landscape Architects will hold its 2003 meeting and exposition in New Orleans, followed the next day - in the very same city and in the very same convention center - by the

More than two years of paying full-time attention to thousands of tiny details: That’s what this project was all about, says landscape architect, Contractor and watershaper Mark Holden – not to mention close collaboration with a determined client who inspired Holden to reach for levels of craft, creativity and practical improvisation that have informed his approaches to design, construction and watershaping in every project since.

Classic Persuasion

For more than two full years, this project was my personal and professional obsession. It all started in 1993, when my client, a wealthy recording-industry magnate, called on me to design the landscape for a property he'd just acquired in Bel Air, one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Los Angeles. The Spanish Colonial-style home had been built in the 1920s and was in a sad state of disrepair. By the time I arrived, it had been gutted to the studs, and very nearly all of the hardscape and plantings around the house had been torn out as well. What he was offering me was a tantalizingly blank canvas in a most spectacular setting. In the two years that followed, not only would we

Making Connections

From pools, spas and fountains to streams, ponds and waterparks, effective watershaping is largely about the plumbing that makes these systems work. If you see things that way, says hydraulics expert Steve Gutai, there's nothing more fundamental to success than making proper connections in the system's plumbing lines, first time, every time, and piping joints that will bear up under pressure for the long haul.

In creating sculptures and watershapes inspired by local history, geography and natural features, public artist Ross Miller aims to delight and soothe all passersby while especially rewarding those who see a deeper meaning. Whether the water in these compositions is vigorous and crashing or gentle and vaporous, he says, his goal is to shape spaces that celebrate local heritage and enrich the spirit of their communities.

Public Interests

At its most basic, public art creates spaces in which people experience art without paying hard-earned dollars to own it or going to a museum or gallery to see it. Public art is also about giving everyone within eyeshot new types of experiences amid their daily routines. Perhaps it's an object they'll pass on the way to the subway or an environment they'll spot out of the corner of an eye as they drive to the grocery store. Maybe it's a place where people gather to eat lunch or a landmark for arranging meetings with friends. Whether it's familiar to the viewer or sneaks up unexpectedly, the work becomes

Exterior Collaborations

Amazing things can happen when great architects think beyond the walls and tackle exterior design as part of their projects. That's a message that comes through loud and clear and repeatedly in Susan Zevon's Outside Architecture (Rockport Publishers, 1999). Throughout the book's 190 generously illustrated pages, she covers the work of 18 architects - using multiple examples from each while focusing not so much on individual projects but rather on key features, styles and design philosophies that cut across the range of the fine work on display. About three quarters of the projects are residential and range stylistically from classic to modern at locations scattered across the United States and Mexico. Nearly all of the architects were new