ARTICLES Archives - Page 99 of 315

Small Space, Big City

The current generation of pond designers and installers tends to think big - often very big - and enjoy pursuing projects on large properties in which the basin and its accompanying streams and waterfalls create spaces so naturalistic that it seems like the water's been there forever. That's a noble goal - and one I pursue frequently in my projects for

Water’s Flip Side

'For years,' wrote Bruce Zaretsky to open his On the Level column in the January 2011 edition, WaterShapes 'has celebrated the beauty, majesty and positive potential of water in the landscape. We've seen it flowing down waterfalls, over vanishing edges, across slopes and through the air. We've seen what happens to colors immersed in it, how it creates shimmering light patterns, how it works its way over stone and, perhaps most important, the

The Big Aquatic Picture

I've written a couple of my recent blogs about public pools, access to them, their cost, their status and my growing concern that, for a complex of reasons, swimming skills and our basic societal inclination to be water-involved is slowly moving onto the cultural version of the endangered species list. It's in this context that I call your attention to

Working with sodium bicarbonate in starting up a newly finished watershape involves more than turning on a tap, concedes Kim Skinner. But once a barrel is prepared, the method is simplicity itself -- and truly kind to new plaster, quartz and pebble surfaces in pools and spas.

Bicarb Start-Up ABCs

WaterShapes recently published a pair of my articles on techniques for filling newly plastered swimming pools with water and starting them on the path to a long, successful service life. In the second of those articles (click here), the focus was on the bicarb start-up method and the effect this approach has on the establishment of a durable plaster, pebble or quartz finish. But rather than being a step-by-step description of how the bicarb start-up works on site, the article was about

Achieving perfection in an all-glass-tile pool/spa project is always a team effort. But in a project as elaborate as this one, notes Jimmy Reed, the nature of the material offers special challenges as he and his expert tile installers work to make the visual magic happen.

Smooth Ambition

Every once in a while, the stars align and we're given the opportunity to pursue and attain perfection in applying glass tile to a beautifully designed and built swimming pool and spa. The project illustrated here is one such case: Everything about it just snapped into place. First, we were asked to join the design team at an early stage, so we had a good level of input on how the pool was to be laid out and its interior surfaces formed; second, the watershapes fit

A Flying Start

I'm going to start the New Year by breaking a personal tradition - and I'm going to do it on a grand scale. As I've written in past first-of-the-year blogs, I'm not inclined to make New Year's resolutions for myself, mainly because when I made them in the distant past, it would generally take less than a

Given all the details that can get in the way of smooth performance, it's easy to see why it's tough to take a watershaping act on the road. The key to success at a distance is, of course, planning, but as Barry Justus reports, it also helps to be patient -- and lucky.

Cliff-Top Performance

Working on the road can be tough. As was discussed in the first of this pair of articles (click here), it can get even rougher when you're working on a cliff in a remote area and have been asked to build a big watershape in a place where all sorts of environmental rules and restrictions apply and there are also plenty of easy-to-upset neighbors. I thought we were ready for all contingencies as we prepared ourselves, the design, the plans, the permits and the site. I was even prepared to deal with the half-load restrictions imposed to protect thawing

Off the Deep End

'A big part of properly designing watershapes to meet specific client needs has to do with understanding how they'll be using the body of water,' wrote David Tisherman at the start of his Details column in January 2006. 'I always explore this issue with my clients, which is why, for

Three Year-End Smiles

Three news stories caught my eye as I began thinking about the completion of another year's set of WaterShapes World blogs. These aren't the usual holiday-oriented/feel-good items, as you'll see. The first comes from the web site of the

A Supple Vision

I've been to New York often through the years, mostly on business trips that have only rarely afforded me opportunities to get out and take in the sights. But on one occasion many years ago, I managed to shake out several extra days and spent my time experiencing as much of Manhattan as I could. I ranged from Battery Park on the island's southernmost tip of the island up to The Cloisters on its northern reaches and managed to spend a whole, glorious early-fall day in Central Park. It was there, near the upper edge of Frederick Law Olmstead's masterpiece of urban space-making, that I came across a marvelous little fountain that's well worth a few extra steps the next time your travels take you to the Big Apple. The fountain I'm referring to wasn't here originally. For many years, it had graced the Yonkers, N.Y., estate of Samuel Untermyer, who passed away in 1940. He was a New York lawyer and prominent civic leader, and when his children donated the fountain to the park, the monuments committee placed it by 1947 in an estimable space in the Conservatory Garden. This is the original fountain. To see it, you need to travel all the way to Mecklenburg, Germany. The fountain's sculpture, "Three Dancing Maidens" by the German artist Walter Schott, isn't exactly "original" either: It's one of a set of replicas cast in Berlin at some point after the artist finished his work around 1910. Schott was a favorite of Kaiser Wilhelm and spent a lot of time doing monumental portrait busts and conventionally grand statues of historical figures, but he was capable of working with far greater subtlety and expressiveness - these fair and flowing maidens being a case in point. The fountain freezes from time to time, as seen in this photograph taken in 2008. The frozen drapery adds a special touch to the composition. I haven't seen the Untermyer Fountain in more than 30 years, but it came quickly back to mind when I saw it among a photo survey of New York fountains frozen by wintertime cold snaps. As you may recall, I'm an avid fan of frozen fountains and waterfalls; I've always supposed it has something to do with the fact that my family escaped the Frost Belt when I was very young -- but I still have early (and happy) memories of icicles draping everything in sight. You don't have to withstand frosty weather to appreciate the Untermyer Fountain: I saw it on a warm October day, and I have to say there's no better place to be than New York (and Central Park!) at that time of year. By Jim McCloskey I've been to New York many times through the years, mostly on business trips that have only rarely afforded me opportunities to get out and about and take in the sights. But on one occasion many years ago, I managed to shake out several extra days and spent my time experiencing as much of Manhattan as I could. I covered the run from the southernmost tip of the island up to The Cloisters on its northern reaches and managed to spend the full length of one glorious early-fall day in Central Park. It was there, near the top edge of Frederick Law Olmstead's masterpiece of urban space-making, that I came across a marvelous little fountain that's well worth a few extra steps the next time your travels take you to the Big Apple. The fountain I'm referring to wasn't here originally. For many years, it had graced the Yonkers, N.Y., estate of Samuel Untermyer, who passed away in 1940. He was a New York lawyer and prominent civic leader, and when his children donated the fountain to the park, the monuments committee placed it by 1947 in an estimable space in the Conservatory Garden. The fountain's sculpture, "Three Dancing Maidens" by the German artist Walter Schott, isn't exactly "original" either: It's one of a set of replicas cast in Berlin at some point after the artist finished his work around 1910. Schott was a favorite of Kaiser Wilhelm and spent a lot of time doing monumental portrait busts and conventionally grand statues of historical figures, but he was capable of working with far greater subtlety and expressiveness - these fair and flowing maidens being a case in point. I haven't seen the Untermyer Fountain in more than 30 years, but it came quickly back to mind when I saw it among a photo survey of New York fountains frozen by wintertime cold snaps. As you may recall, I'm an avid fan of frozen fountains and waterfalls; I've always supposed it has something to do with the fact that my family escaped the Frost Belt when I was less than four years old and I have early (and happy) memories of icicles draping everything in sight. But you don't have to withstand frosty weather to appreciate the Untermyer Fountain: I saw it on a warm October day, and I have to say there's no better place to be than New York (and Central Park!) at that time of year. dry © Victorianl | Dreamstime.com Original fountain in Mecklenburg, Germany Photo by Doris Antony, Berlin | Wikipedia Frozen in 2008 Photo by Ralph Hockens, New York | Wikipedia