ARTICLES Archives - Page 68 of 312

Renovation Time

By Jim McCloskey The weather has taken a turn toward heat in the time since I wrote my last blog: It's been in the 90s several times recently, and it reminds me of an even hotter stretch early in May 1989, when we moved into our current house and settled in as a family with our first swimming pool. When we arrived with our

Nature’s Ways

When a pond's fish shift to spawning mode, all sorts of things start happening in a hurry -- in turn whipping new pond owners into a frenzy right alongside their fish. At these times, Mike Gannon counsels restraint and helps novices recognize and follow what's happening.

After sizing up the situation with the Neptune Pool at Hearst Castle, William Rowley took the next step and developed an engineering plan to aid in restoring the plumbing system, structure and overall functionality of one of the world's most recognized and celebrated watering holes.

Defining Delicate Tasks

The first of this pair of articles mentioned that Julia Morgan had completed the architecture program at Beaux-Arts in Paris in three years rather than the usual five, but I didn't mention all of the circumstances. One of the rules of that institution prohibited the instruction of students after their thirtieth birthdays, which seems a totally bizarre limitation to us now but apparently made sense to French academicians at the turn of the 20th Century. Given the delays in her gaining a position at the school, she'd entered the program with the clock ticking and really had no choice but to

#30: Tiled Finger Ledge

Safety is never far from my mind as I design for my clients, but as important as it is, it's seldom the only thing on my mind as a project comes together. In fact, balancing the need for features we must include for safety's sake with our everyday passion about never compromising on aesthetics is something I consider with every detail. Whether it's the extent to which

The position and basic shape of the pool may have been predetermined, writes Scott Cummings, but the visual drama he added with his finish selections and a perimeter-overflow/vanishing-edge design made all the difference in optimizing the site's cool water-on-water views.

Lake Effects

When we get involved in backyard projects, it's rare these days that we don't have a fairly high level of creative control: We're the ones who figure out where to place the pool, what shape it should have, how it should be finished and what should surround it with respect to the hardscape and landscaping and even the furnishings. That's why it's a bit funny that this is the second in a pair of projects we've recently published through WaterShapes in which many of the fundamental shots were called by others - in this case by a talented home-construction firm that brought us in after the footprint for the pool and spa had been

Water Wonders

I've seen two articles recently that I must share - one inspiring, the other amazing. First the inspiration: It's tough for aquatic facilities to be recognized at all when it comes to the rigorous requirements of the

We Can Do Better

‘During a presentation to a recent conference for the swimming pool and spa industry, I tossed this nugget to the audience: “By a show of hands, how many of you in this room believe that most people think highly of our industry? Please be honest.” ’ That’s how Brian Van Bower began his Aqua Culture column in the May 2003 edition of WaterShapes. He continued: ‘It was a mixed group of more than 160 people representing

Identifying the Issue

‘It’s an unfortunate fact that landscape architects receive little or no formal education in watershaping while they’re in school. As a result,’ began Mark Holden in his Currents column for the April 2008 issue of WaterShapes, ‘where the typical landscape architect’s irrigation plan will show every pipe, fitting, wire and component for a given project, that same project’s pool plan will carry almost no

A Memorable Milestone

I've recently returned from four days of celebrating the 20th anniversary of Genesis with friends and colleagues in Paso Robles, Calif. - about 35 miles away from where it all started for them at Morro Bay on the state's Central Coast. The weather wasn't as brilliant as it might have been, but everything else about the event was top notch and

Simple Mastery

When I wrote about Lawrence Halprin's Keller Fountain in Portland, Ore., in August 2012, I had meant to cover its Portland cousin, the Lovejoy Fountain, within a few months that have now turned into several years. Apologies for failing to double back sooner, because they really do fit together better than this span of time would suggest. Lovejoy Plaza was the first completed installation in what is now known as the Portland Open Space Sequence, which includes four separate urban environments linked by promenades in a span covering eight blocks. Physically, Lovejoy Plaza is the second of the four spaces in the chain, which starts with the Source Fountain, moves past the Lovejoy Fountain, rolls through Pettygrove Park and ends up at the Keller Fountain. Halprin was a pioneering advocate for this sequenced, themed approach to arranging urban spaces, and the fact that he became involved in Portland at a time of 1960s-style urban redevelopment gave him the opportunity to exercise his philosophy on a grand scale - and, more important, with a relatively clean slate. The Lovejoy Fountain is a beautiful example of Halprin's aquatic work - varied elevations, expressive materials, dramatic contours, vigorous flows, wonderful sound. He's a master of mood management, in this case surrounding the fountain's rougher edges with plants and trees that soften its visual features and make the plaza more inviting. He's also a master of the art of engagement, providing all sorts of ways for passersby to get up close to the water and interact with it on multiple levels (this despite the fact that there are signs warning against coming in contact with it). In this case as with several of his other designs, the Lovejoy Fountain is also a brilliant performance space - no surprise given Halprin's frequent collaborations with his wife, Anna, an accomplished performer who certainly encouraged him to look at public spaces as stages for dancers, backdrops for musicians and places for playful movement around the water. (One of the videos linked below put the fountain's artistic flexibility on brilliant display.) The four spaces were designed between 1963 and 1970, with Lovejoy Plaza completed first, in 1966. Satoru Nishita served as partner-in-charge for the project after becoming a principal at Lawrence Halprin + Associates in 1964. I like everything about this fountain, from its approachability to its reflection of nature and its debt to terrain I know well from my own time spent exploring the Columbia River Valley and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. It's manifestly a composed, artificial space, but it operates on a level where, like a great abstract painting, it gives observers the chance to run free with their own interpretations and responses. If you can't tell by now, I'm a big fan of Mr. Halprin's work. The next time you're in the Great Northwest, spend an afternoon in downtown Portland and I think you'll see why. To see an odd 360-degree video of the Lovejoy Fountain, click here and be sure to use the effect. It takes a while to get down to business, but it's worth the wait. To see a video in which Lovejoy Fountain host an interactive art project, click here.