ARTICLES Archives - Page 70 of 314

This wasn't one of those cases where a popped pool could be coaxed back into place. Instead, Shane LeBlanc had to remove not just one, but two old shells -- and set up a new system while easing any fears city officials might have had about their watershape ever moving again.

Pop Goes the Pool

There are few things in the world of watershaping as dramatic or devastating as a popped pool. On their way up out of the ground, they'll shatter decks and coping, break pipes and conduits and, often, leave cracked shells behind and generally make a terrible mess. They also lead to one big first question from the owner: "So can you make it go back down?" I'm pleased to report that none of the pools I've built has ever risen above its assigned grade, but I live and work in the south, often in areas where

Mystical Moments

For me, one of the highlights of the 20th Anniversary Celebration for Genesis was the place most of us stayed: The Allegretto Vineyard Resort is a spectacular facility created as an extension of the imagination of the property's owner, Douglas Ayres. The hotel embodies an eclectic blend of design concepts, from dashes of feng shui to dollops of talk-to-the-land spiritualism mixed in with

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