Pools & Spas
Vanishing edges and other water-in-transit details remain among the most popular design elements in custom pools. Moving water over an edge can be a powerful aesthetic element, one that expands the perception of space and enhances reflection. Taking advantage of those qualities requires mastering the technical specifics.
Regardless of style, scale or budget, watershape design in one way or another is about forging connections with the surroundings, especially in the presence of natural beauty. Making those natural connections by way of orchestrating human experience is a philosophy that has driven some of history’s greatest designers and continues to resonate today.
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Lazy Rivers are among the most complex systems found in residential settings. In this installment of Direct Connections, builder Scott Payne details a recent backyard river project that pushed him and his company beyond their comfort zone, but one that yielded a treasure trove of knowledge and a river that takes the clients for a joy ride.
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Commercial pools must conform to a variety of safety and operational requirements beyond those promulgated in the residential segment of the industry. The ubiquitous 3-bend handrail is no exception. As Dave Peterson explains, even this simple design sometimes fails in implementation -- but help is on the way with this nifty and useful detail.
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Watershape University proudly introduces its most comprehensive online educational offering to date – CON 2211: Essential Pool Construction Workshop. It’s all about understanding essential construction processes needed to competently construct swimming pools, and other concrete structures that contain decorative and/or recreational water.
Providing online content has become a necessary preoccupation for educators throughout society. Knowing that the watershapes industry is overrun with demand and facing severe labor shortages, Watershape University has stepped into the breach with a host of digital, mostly live online courses, such as Advanced Fluid Engineering and the parade of topical Wolfpack Webinar Wednesdays. Collectively these offerings have necessarily replaced in-person instruction during the pandemic.
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Deploying its slat-based automatic cover, Aquamatic Cover Systems recently completed work on a massive existing pool on a college campus where administrators were looking for a state-of-the-art way to conserve both water and energy, all with the touch of a button.
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One of the biggest and most common mistakes watershapers can make, cautions builder Dave Penton, is projecting their own financial perspectives onto their clients. It’s a misstep that can, he says, lead to an errant assumption the customer is either unable or unwilling to pay for something that might seem extremely expensive to most others.
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A beautiful aquatic setting deserves equally dazzling water, explains water-quality specialist, Steve Kenny. That universal truth can lead anywhere, he says, including this project that is nestled in the heart of a tropical paradise, where he rescued a gorgeous pool from the murky depths of an inadequate treatment system.
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For commercial public and private aquatic facilities of all types, making the best use of downtime during the pandemic for key upgrades is a great way to capitalize on what is otherwise a time of dryness. And, according to aquatic play solutions consultant Cory Anderson, it might not be as expensive or difficult as some might think.
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Naming a Legacy