ARTICLES Archives - Page 35 of 315

The Grass Menagerie

Despite water usage concerns, grass remains a mainstay in both commercial and residential landscapes. Working with grass, explains Mike Logsdon, usually requires some level of moderation and a knack for knowing how to ply the multitudinous types of grasses for the greatest effect, based on client expectations and anticipated grassy needs.

This beautiful, ultra-contemporary southern California project featured a number of shapely features designed to harmonize with the home’s architecture. For Kevin Cobabe, it was an opportunity to apply his skills as a design-facing builder who can handle complicated equipment sets as well as the fine artistic touches.

Art of the Angle

Most people probably don't think of geometry as being "cool." While studying points, planes, protractors and the Pythagorean theorem may not have seemed like any fun back in high school, when you use the mathematics of form to create a beautiful hillside watershape, lines and angles become far more interesting.

Collecting & Using Survey Data

No matter how sophisticated your design software, it’s not worth much without accurate site data,…

Accurate Estimating Support

Failure to accurately estimate and price projects is a common and costly misstep. Because reliable…

While fun has always been a big part of watershaping, there’s a relatively recent generational twist to it, explains Scott Cohen, it’s one being driven by grandparents who are taking a competitive approach to motivating their kids’ kids to spend time with the old folks.

Battle for the Grandkids

As we grow older, and our children have children, there's a powerful desire to spend time with younger family members. Savvy grandparents know that one way you can make that happen is to have an at-home environment that kids can't resist.

Fighting Thirst

Solving world-wide water supply problems might just come down answering complex materials science questions on the molecular level. According to new research, life-saving breakthroughs in the desalination process may be possible by way of understanding the way water moves through reverse-osmosis membranes.

Detail: A171 (One Step Closer)

Vertical dimensions in floating steps can be critical to walking safety. In our last Beneath the Surface Detail, we coordinated the human stride to basic step geometry in a plan view, now Dave Peterson takes it one step further and looks at this detail from a different angle: an elevation view.

There’s something liberating about jumping from a high perch then plunging into pristine waters below, a thrill that’s as old as humankind, says Anthony Archer Wills. That’s the dream a recent client wanted for herself and family, a sensation he was all too happy to create in the form of a unique “diving pond.”

Diving into a Dream

When designing a watershape, you do it with both the setting and the client in mind. It's a duality that exists on every project. Ultimately the water must feel at home in the surrounding environment, while, at the same time,

Eyes on Sites

Watershape University launched its 2021 online educational offerings with a detailed primer on site evaluation and surveying in a January Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays presentation. Taught by Rob Warren, a member of the International Watershape Institute, the presentation covered what watershapers should keep in mind when gathering key site-based information.

Fins of the Father

Unbeknownst to many, one of our nation's Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, was arguably also our "founding" swimming enthusiast. Along with helping our nation win its freedom and establish our system of government, Franklin had quite a lot to say about the value of swimming -- he even invented swim fins.