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Construction can be a tough business: Even minor conflicts or disputes often lead to courtroom battles, and you can hardly blame people in the trades for thinking 'potential lawsuit' every time they sign a contract. One way to avoid these lose/lose scenarios, says aquatic consultant Curt Straub, is to implement a simple, up-front agreement designed to foster cooperation among designers, engineers, contractors and clients.
It was one of those projects where aesthetics, technology, function and history all came together. Installed on a pier on the waterfront in Hoboken, N.J., right across the river from the Manhattan skyline, the dry-deck fountain pictured on these pages was part of a civic development movement aimed at creating new public areas on both the New York and New Jersey shores. Our company, Roman Fountains of Albuquerque, N.M., first became involved in the project in 1996, when we
As designers and builders, we might feel with every new project that we have created the most profoundly original setting in the world. In most cases, however, our most likely achievement has to do with adapting an architectural concept developed long ago, putting a modern twist on it and calling it our own. For me, in fact, the more I learn about the history of watershaping, the more I feel connected to ancient watershapers and recognize that we haven't created anything really "new" in a long time. We all know clients, for instance, who want their backyards or public spaces to look like Spanish or Italian villas, French or English formal gardens, or maybe peaceful
During our last session, we explored the water-flow/electric-current-flow analogy and summed it up in a few sentences that are worth repeating: • Water: The pressure created by the pump forces water to flow through the pipes and valves, overcoming the friction losses of the system. Higher pressure provides for more gallons per minute. • Electricity: The voltage created by the battery forces electrons to flow through the wires and switches, overcoming the ohmic resistance of the circuit. Higher voltage provides for more amperes. (The short version of that is, "Volts push amps through ohms.") To be truly useful to us, we must know something about the way these three basic units relate to
I've had the pleasure over the past few years of working with a client who ultimately has become a good friend - and with whom I created a very unique garden. The process of designing the space was lengthy, but it afforded me time to truly understand my client and her wants. As we progressed, many issues arose that needed to be addressed; over time and at many points, patience was indeed a virtue. Her yard had existing structures as well as large Eucalyptus, Pittosporum and Chorisia trees and other plantings along with
Just think about what can happen if a customer seeks compensation for some problem that has arisen in the course of installing a watershape: Whether the complaint is
As I see it, there are six main types of watershapes: pools, spas, fountains, ponds, waterfalls and streams. Although there is tremendous variety within each category, I think most of us in the business would put pools, spas and fountains in one sub-group and ponds, waterfalls, and streams in another. Obviously, there's room for overlapping here - waterfalls installed with pools, for example, or fountains in the middle of ponds. The key distinction for me, however, is the closeness with which a pond, waterfall or stream must imitate
Several years ago, I was asked to conduct a seminar on basic electricity for the members of a small homeowners' association. They were working their way alphabetically through the various trade disciplines with which a homeowner might come in contact. As I recall, they had covered attic fans, brickwork, cabinetry, carpeting, decks and doors at previous meetings. I learned that I was to be followed in coming months by fences, fireplaces and
Among the most complicated tasks you'll encounter in designing a watershape is determining your clients' style and how it applies to the project. How important is it to know what style they want? That's a complicated
Value by Design