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This is one of those "What Is It?" items I hesitated to write, mainly because the material and concept behind exposed-aggregate decking is so familiar (and maybe even so old-fashioned) that most of us rarely think of it. In the case of the poolscape featured in the video linked below, for example, it's possible and maybe even likely
'One of the most common themes repeated in [WaterShapes] is that selecting materials for projects can make the difference between truly artistic designs and those that are either inappropriate or just plain boring,' wrote Bruce Zaretsky to open his On the Level column in the December 2010 issue. 'Materials truly matter, and the importance of knowing your options and
Some projects are just more enjoyable than others - and this was one of the fun ones. We were called to a property in Bridgehampton, N.J., where the homeowner had amassed a large collection of ducks, geese and other birds (including some peacocks). The creatures occupied a large area in the big backyard - but a washtub had been
'For years,' wrote Brian Van Bower to kick off his Aqua Culture column in the December 2005 edition of WaterShapes, 'conventional wisdom has held that many of the advances in watershape design incubate in the commercial realm and then slowly percolate over to the residential market as our clients ask for features they've seen on vacation and elsewhere.' 'That paradigm holds up to this day in many ways, but what's less acknowledged
Designing swimming pools and spas for people with disabilities is a special calling for watershapers: The process gets you involved with sets of capabilities and physical limitations that force you to think beyond the usual; it also puts you in gut-level contact with the needs of those who crave involvement with water and its potential to ease pain, make aquatic exercise possible and, via simple buoyancy, make gravity less of
Working on a large-scale project is a challenge when it happens even ten miles from your home base: Big jobs are just plain tough. But building that same project 150 miles away? That takes the difficulty to another level - and when you mix in an extremely difficult, environmentally sensitive site, it can feel as though you're operating on another planet. A case in point can be found in our participation in a design/build project on a remote cottage estate in the stunning
Pardon the impression I may have given in my November 18 blog that the 2015 International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo was entirely about Genesis and its merger with the National Swimming Pool Foundation. Far from it - and therein hangs a tale. When I first started attending these shows in the mid-1980s, I was fairly well dazzled by what I saw as I wandered the floor: If you spent as
As though it werent apparent by now, when i travel, look for watershapes.< p >
It' s been a professional practice of mine since 1986, when i started working at pool & spa news, but it was established as personal habit long before then. even child (and my parents could attest if they were still with us), drawn to water wherever went
This means I've seen and studied lots of fountains through the years. It also means that I pay lots of attention when I run into an unconventional one, as was certainly the case with the Tanner Fountain on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. When I saw its arrangement of stones and the wonderful way it uses mist to make the space mysterious yet strangely inviting, I was hooked.
Designed by landscape architect Peter Walker in collaboration with sculptor Joan Brigham and fountain expert Richard Chaix, the watershape sits along a busy pedestrian thoroughfare near Harvard Yard. An early and perhaps even the first example of the "Landscape as Art" movement that started at Harvard around the time the fountain was installed in 1984, the composition consists of concentric rings of granite boulders looping around 32 jets located near the center. The jets produce water sprays and a dense mist that envelops the stones like a cloud.
When I first saw the Tanner Fountain, I was immediately reminded of the inverted fountain on the UCLA campus, which I wrote about in a travelogue back in June 2013 (click here). But where the effect of the UCLA fountain was to inspire mirth (at least to my somewhat twisty mind), the Tanner Fountain simply inspires, especially on days when the air is still and the mist has its way with the space.
The video linked below shows the layout of the stones and how their placement invites observers to come close, pass within the rings and approach the source of the mist. My big regret is that I missed seeing the space covered in snow - a phenomenon that puts a completely different spin on the composition. But I still count myself lucky: I saw it on a warm late-summer day when the cooling mist was unusually welcome.
In short, I love this fountain. The next time you're in the area, stop on by - and please give yourself enough time to observe the space at your leisure, especially taking in the way people (especially children, if any are around) interact with the mist: It's a treat on more levels than I can count.
To see a brief, wonderfully informative (if deadpan) video showing the various moods and seasons of Tanner Fountain, click here.
In the course of my career, I've worked with blue-chip clients from rock stars and professional athletes to Hollywood celebrities and business tycoons. It may be my sparkling personality, but, realistically, I think it has more to do with the way I have with glass tile and custom mosaics associated with beautiful swimming pools. My company, Rock Solid Tile of Calabasas, Calif., has worked all over Los Angeles through the years, taking its
Rooftop pools and other similarly elevated swimming pool structures present unique sets of considerations that must be thoroughly addressed by anyone involved in their design and construction. As was discussed in the first article in this two-part series ("Elevated Engineering," click here), it is common for these watershapes to be constructed inside a concrete vault or supported on a concrete structural slab - either of which is usually
