Pools & Spas
In December 2004, WaterShapes introduced ‘The Platinum Standard,’ a registry of projects that embodies watershaping…
One of the compliments we appreciate most at Root Design Co. is when people say that no two of our projects look alike. Indeed, we pride ourselves on being able to work effectively across a broad spectrum of styles and use both time-tested and innovative building methods in ways that let us focus on details and on making certain we’re always generating work that speaks directly to our clients’ unique tastes and desires. To maintain our edge, we limit the number of projects we tackle each year and, at the same time, seek out clients whose enthusiasm matches our own when it comes to pursuing
Every once in a while, a project comes along that gives you a chance to step up and demonstrate your company’s capabilities. The construction of the swimming pool seen here was just that kind of exercise for our firm. Located in Potomac, Md., the property is just west of Washington, D.C., in an exclusive neighborhood remarkable for the outstanding caliber and quantity of its watershaping and landscaping projects. We became involved here through a custom homebuilder who was remodeling the property and wanted to do something special in the backyard. This represents a perfect example of how our firm, Alpine Pool & Design of Annandale, Va., thrives in this market. Through the years, we had already worked not only with the homebuilder, but also with the architect as well as the landscape architect. When it came time to consider watershape construction, all three recommended us for the job – testimony to the fact that ever since we opened shop in 1986, we’ve done all we can to establish a reputation for high-value collaboration as part of a community of like-minded designers and contractors. We pride ourselves on being able to execute the most challenging designs and
Some clients don’t know any limits when it comes to their ambitions – and that’s certainly been true in this case. His mountain-sized home is set on a relatively flat four-acre parcel in otherwise hilly Ramona, Calif. The client himself describes the building as looking like a casino, and indeed it does have a decidedly “eclectic” architectural look. What he wanted was a backyard to match – a free-wheeling composition that might best be described as a Tommy Bahama-inspired tropical resort. He let me know that the family
As we discussed last month, perimeter-overflow details are among the most distinctive and challenging of all features in today’s custom pool market. In March’s column, we defined the different types of these edge designs, then described the complex, exacting process of building a knife-edge overflow system. This time, we’ll get into the hydraulic finesse needed to make these systems work. This includes everything from calculating bather surges to sizing the plumbing and surge tanks needed to make these effects function
With every new project, we always strive to create unique watershapes that reflect particular clients’ wants, needs, dreams and imaginations. What this means, given the fact that every client is an individual, is that no two of our pools are ever quite the same. In the case described in this article, for example, the clients’ distinctive personalities led us to create something that’s more like a waterpark than a residential pool/spa combination. In a very real sense, it reflects their personalities and a sense of the magic they find in certain chapters of our history – a special space for them to enjoy with their children. The clients purchased the newly built home on a hill overlooking the ocean in
It’s true for any watershaper: No matter how varied the work you do, it never hurts to be known for the ability to do something special – and for doing it exceptionally well. Through the years, for example, my firm has polished its ability to provide our clients with watershapes reflecting a wide variety of tastes, styles and features, but to an extent that sometimes surprises even me, we’re known among prospective clients for
It all started in 2002, when I was contacted by an architect who’d been retained to design a recreational complex for a huge estate in a wealthy Chicago suburb. I knew at the time that this would be big, but in those early days I had no clear idea exactly what it would ultimately entail. It’s a familiar story: Before the call came in, the homeowner had spoken with a number of pool-contracting firms in the area and had visited a number of projects that failed to impress her. The unusual thing is, at the time she called I was focused exclusively on pursuing large-scale commercial projects and waterparks and didn’t see anything even approaching a
For the past year and more, we’ve worked our way step by step through the many processes involved in designing and installing quality residential watershapes, starting from the first contact with a prospective client and working our way through, in the last two months, to the application of well-selected interior finishes. A concern I’ve always had with this step-wise approach is that it makes too many of these operations seem as though they happen in isolation and that decisions about design and materials and finishing touches are made as
Although the concept is relatively unfamiliar in the United States and largely untested here, pools supported by an entirely natural approach to filtration and water management have been under development in Europe for decades and have caught on there in a big way in recent years. In this special feature, German watershaper and natural-pool expert Rainer Grafinger discusses the ‘technology’ behind this potent European trend. For most people in the United States, swimming is far from a natural experience: Bathers move back and forth in man-made, chemically treated backyard or public swimming pools and seldom (if ever) find themselves in
