ARTICLES Archives - Page 63 of 312

Nature’s Way

'Back when WaterShapes was in its infancy, the idea that swimming pools and spas had much in common with other forms of contained water (including ponds, fountains and streams) was a true novelty: All of those worlds seemed light years apart.' That's how Brian Van Bower opened his Aqua Culture column in November 2008 before adding: '[T]hings have changed and there's now widespread recognition that these seemingly

Nature’s Way

'Back when WaterShapes was in its infancy, the idea that swimming pools and spas had much in common with other forms of contained water (including ponds, fountains and streams) was a true novelty: All of those worlds seemed light years apart.' That's how Brian Van Bower opened his Aqua Culture column in November 2008 before adding: '[T]hings have changed and there's now widespread recognition that these seemingly

The Trouble with Liners

'As modern building materials have been developed,' wrote Japanese garden specialist Douglas M. Roth in October 2003, '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

Calming Undulations

One thing I can safely say about the California city where I grew up is that it's a lot different from what it was like when I was a kid. Back in the 1960s, the area across from Santa Monica's City Hall was a mass of parking lots, office buildings and other hard, unattractive surfaces. The famed Civic Auditorium was at one end of the street, and a Moderne-style

The logistics were tough and the technical challenges even tougher, notes Robert Nonemaker. But a systematic approach (and a supportive general contractor) helped him and his staff develop a hydraulically complex fountain system for a corporate client with big ambitions.

Sweeping Beauty

One of the things we value most in our fountain projects is that no two of them are ever the same. I can make that same statement about our custom pool projects, of course, but it's a matter of degree: Where uniqueness from pool to pool is about selecting just the right possibilities among shapes, elevations and materials, for instance, from fountain to fountain it's about inventing and adapting technology and pushing accepted limits to make ideas work. The fountain under discussion in this article is a perfect illustration of that distinction. Making it happen was about

Given the opportunity, Raymond Jungles jumped at the challenge of surrounding a home far from his usual base with water and native plants. As he discusses here, making it work was about identifying a new palette and using it in ways that harmonized with his design instincts.

A Big Sky Statement

My work as a landscape architect is usually recognized for two distinguishing characteristics - first for the inspiration I draw from my friend and mentor, the late, great Brazilian environmental artist Roberto Burle Marx, and then for my driving ambition to preserve and restore habitats, as expressed in projects throughout South Florida and across the Florida Keys and various islands in the Caribbean and the West Indies. This is why seeing the project discussed here comes as something of a surprise to many who are familiar with my work: It's located in Big Timber, Mont., a blip on the road between

Travelin’ Man

I haven't quite started packing my bags for the International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo, which begins soon in Las Vegas, Nev. Truth is, I'll actually need to unpack them first, because right now I'm in Kennett Square, Pa., awaiting the start later today of

Look Back, Move Forward

At this point 20 years ago, WaterShapes was running at full throttle as we prepared to publish our first-ever printed edition in February 1999. In that era, this meant we had to have the final version of our premiere issue in the printer's hands very early in January. From the hatching of the initial concept in

Planting Places

'Growing as a designer,' wrote Brian Van Bower to start his Aqua Culture column in October 2008, 'is often a matter of seeing things from fresh perspectives. 'As one with roots in the pool industry, for example, I once thought first about water and about plants and softscape later (if at all). That bias isn't uncommon, of course: I know plenty of landscape architects and designers who think about plants first and only later

Planting Places

'Growing as a designer,' wrote Brian Van Bower to start his Aqua Culture column in October 2008, 'is often a matter of seeing things from fresh perspectives. 'As one with roots in the pool industry, for example, I once thought first about water and about plants and softscape later (if at all). That bias isn't uncommon, of course: I know plenty of landscape architects and designers who think about plants first and only later