ARTICLES Archives - Page 296 of 312

When we say someone is ‘stone faced,’ observes landscape designer Bobbie Schwartz, we’re thinking of someone who shows no emotion. But in truth, she says, stone is a highly expressive material that imparts a sense of antiquity while giving impressions of permanence, security and serenity. And when you factor in its durability and flexibility, it’s easy to see why stone has been the material of choice for uncounted generations of designers and builders.

Stone Impressions

The ancient Celts transported huge slabs of stone over long distances to create religious circles at Stonehenge and Avebury. The Romans used stone to build their aqueducts. From the pyramids of Egypt to the Acropolis in Athens, from the Great Wall of China to the great castles of Europe, stone has been the raw material of choice for our greatest and most enduring structures. Through the ages, stone has been a well-used material because it is both durable and readily available. It's hard to find a town in Europe without walls constructed of local stone, and all you need do is drive through

It’s a given that watershapers need to maintain close control over design, engineering and construction, especially when they’re working on complex projects and/or challenging sites. That control, says landscape architect and pool builder Mark Holden, can only begin with a clear understanding of the site in topographical and geological terms – an understanding that calls for familiarity with surveys and all the valuable information they offer.

Survey Savvy

Whether it's done using only a tape measure and a pair of experienced eyeballs or requires the help of satellites orbiting the planet, every construction project is surveyed before the work begins. In fact, surveyors have been plying their trade for thousands of years, and their services have been valued for one simple reason: It's really a good idea to measure the size and shape of the ground before you try to build on it. In today's terms, surveying is defined as the process of taking accurate measurements of the land on the X-, Y- and Z axes (that is, in three dimensions) and then translating that data into a usable (usually printed) format. There are several different surveying methods used to measure, process and communicate this critical information, and choosing the right one is essential to getting any watershaping project off to a sound start. So how do you determine the level of detail required and communicate your need to the surveyor so he or she can give you the appropriate level of information? Let's take a look at the different types of surveys in common use and review what those options mean in terms of creating a truly useful array of

Seeking to take a giant step to the forefront of aquatic sports in the United States, the city of Mesa, Ariz., has commissioned the design and construction of a monumental indoor swim center to be built in observance of the strictest international competitive standards. Here’s a look at what’s been involved in realizing the city’s ambition, as seen from the perspective of the pool architecture and engineering firm that was asked to join the design team.

Competition Without Compromise

When it's completed sometime in mid-2002, the Mesa Indoor Aquatic Center will be among the premier U.S. facilities for competitive swimming, diving, water polo, synchronized swimming and synchronized diving. Once it's up and running, MIAC will be the country's largest indoor competitive swimming facility owned and operated by a municipality; just as certainly, it will also act for years to come as host to countless world-class aquatic competitions. A project like this

It’s easy for watershapers to get wrapped up in the beauty and creativity involved in design and construction of their projects – and he’s no exception, says fabricated-rock specialist Richard Winget. But that doesn’t mean swimming pools can’t be fun. That in mind, he takes us on a survey of user-friendly rock features that make his pools work for the young and young at heart while getting high marks for their remarkably ‘natural’ looks.

Sculpted for Fun

It's something we in the business overlook all too often: Swimming pools, kids and summertime go together. That's why pools have been so enduringly popular, even at a time when watershapers seem to be focusing more than ever before on principles of design and how their work can be artfully integrated into the landscape. I came to building pools from an extensive background in building man-made rocks for theme parks, which has colored my perspective on the way my pools are used. I've also been swimming in backyard pools since I was a kid, and I've built all sorts of rockwork designs for all sorts of

James R. McNicol, 1934-2001

I was deeply saddened when I learned that Jim McNicol passed away in April 2001. He had been struggling with respiratory disease and other ailments for many months - and suffering far more, I'm sure, than he would have ever let on to those around him. He was a disciplined and creative thinker, and with his passing the industry has lost one of its true innovators and most devoted, respected and admired teachers. For those of us who knew him, we have all lost a good friend. I knew Jim for more than 10 years, and he was among the first people we turned to when we were framing WaterShapes' content in its earliest stages. His column, "Things Electric," ran in the magazine's premiere issue in February 1999 and was

Making the Shade

I truly enjoy including shade structures in my designs. Whether I'm working with an overhang, an arbor, a loggia, a pergola or some other structure (and, yes, they are all different), I see them as ways to create visual extensions of a house - and wonderful places to enjoy being next to the water. There is, of course, as much art and skill to designing and installing the right shade structure as there is to setting up all of the other features of a great backyard. Done well, a structure that projects out from a house will pull your eye from inside to outside while it provides relief from the sun. Similarly, freestanding shade structures

In Praise of Shade

Summer is arriving, and those 90-degree-plus days are coming with it. Your clients are thrilled to have their watershapes to cool off in, but they can't spend all their time in the water! I've discussed shade structures and shade trees before, and it's an important feature to discuss with any clients whose yard you are designing. But there's more to shade than what you do overhead, and you need to discuss what you'll be planting in those shaded areas. There are two problems here. For the most part, people don't know what to plant in the shade - nor do they

The Dotted Line

I started my May 2001 column by expressing the belief that watershape designers should be paid for their designs in the same way interior designers and landscape designers are paid for theirs - and by indicating that lots of watershapers I've met are interested in knowing more about the mechanics of how this works. I put off addressing those issues last time because I saw a need to establish criteria for offering such services in the first place. In other words, there's much more to being a watershape designer than simply declaring yourself to be one, and I set up two dozen questions intended to clarify what I meant. Once you've answered those questions predominantly in the affirmative, once you've determined, through

Generation G

Since the beginning, we at WaterShapes have made no bones about the philosophical connection between our magazine and

Watershapers who tackle projects in older communities often face the necessity of fitting their new designs in with historic architecture and long-established landscape tastes and styles. It can be a challenge, says landscape designer Bruce Zaretsky, but if you’re sensitive to tradition and work carefully with your surroundings, it’s possible to add beautiful and even surprising features to classic homes.

A Garden Surprise

LeRoy, N.Y., is an historic village that's most famous (or most notorious?) for being the birthplace of Jell-O. Far more significant to me, however, is the fact that the town is filled with beautiful 19th-century homes that run the architectural gamut from Colonial to Italianate to Victorian in style. It's a beautiful place, and the site of one of my firm's most unusual projects in recent memory. The home featured in this article is a Second Empire Italianate estimated to be about 140 years old. It's a prime example of 19th-century craftsmanship, from the Mansard roof with its scrolled cornices to the drive-through porte-cochere and the wraparound porch with its beefy wood railings. It's definitely an architectural treasure, filled with the kinds of details that have been lost as far as today's custom-built homes are concerned. Mindful of those special touches, we set about designing a similar level of detail into the landscaping in creating gardens and watershapes that brought real tranquility to