Pools & Spas
Where you've come from often has everything to do with where you're going. As a case in point, let me describe a project that had its origins all the way back at the very start of my work as a watershaper. My pool industry career began soon after I graduated from college. At the time, I was living in a garage in a rough part of Los Angeles and really wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I had studied ancient history, three-dimensional design and industrial design and had been accepted as a PhD candidate in pharmacology at the University of the Pacific. I was convinced I wanted to be a designer, but I wasn't sure which field I should enter. Then one day, at a time when I was about as broke as an organ grinder without a monkey, I answered an ad in the newspaper looking for
A couple months back, the National Association of Home Builders held its annual convention in Orlando, Fla. - a massive January affair that drew more than 120,000 attendees to view all manner of products falling under the broad umbrella of "home construction." One of the annual centerpieces of NAHB's event is the New American Home program. Each year, select local contractors build a state-of-the-art home in the show's host city to put the absolute cutting edge of residential design and construction on display. During the convention, show organizers sell tickets for tours, and thousands of people tour the home. Once the tours are concluded, the home is sold and becomes a deluxe private residence - and a lot of money from ticket sales flows to charity. I was fortunate enough to be asked to
Understanding the client is frequently the most important factor in creating a successful design. In the case of the project highlighted here, for example, it was a given that the clients were highly educated and knowledgeable with respect to design, style and materials: He's a top-flight graphic designer with an amazing grasp of color, line, architectural details, presentation materials and techniques; she's a degreed interior designer with a wonderful artistic flair. They're also two of my best friends: He and I taught together at UCLA and have known each other for more years than I care to admit. They've known about the focus of my business for years and said they hadn't wanted to call me because the project
Backwash valves are the unsung heroes of many a fine hydraulic system. Seldom considered other than when in use, these handy devices simplify filter maintenance, significantly extend filter cycles and even serve to stretch the service lives of a filter’s internal components. Ensuring that level of reliable performance, says hydraulics expert Steve Gutai, is a matter of understanding the role these valves play and selecting the right one for the given application. Backwash valves are simple in concept: They reverse the flow of water through a filter and, in so doing, dislodge dirt and debris that has built up on the surface of and in the filter medium. This procedure has a couple of key benefits in both sand and diatomaceous-earth filters: First, it improves filter performance by breaking up and flushing out the near-solid cakes of dirt and oil particles that build up in the media over time. Second, it prolongs filter cycles and extends the time between major (and messy) cleanings. Third, because they minimize those invasive cleanings, backwashing helps to extend the service lives of a filter’s internal components. For all that, I keep seeing systems in the field in which backwash valves are
One of the great things about working with different architects and designers the way we do is that, as builders of pools, spas and other watershapes, we enjoy opportunities to work across a broad range of design styles and sensibilities. In this instance, we're focusing on one of our favorite Southern California architects, Mark Singer. He's known regionally for crisp, clean, minimalist designs and is well regarded for his work on breathtaking lots along the coast in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and other well-heeled cities overlooking the Pacific Ocean. To our good fortune, most of his projects include pools, spas, courtyard waterfeatures, outdoor sculptures and other amenities that enhance and extend his contemporary designs. Our most recent project with Singer was completed in the summer of 2004 at an older home in the beautiful beach community of Corona del Mar. The house itself was not originally designed by Singer, but it had been remodeled by him several times in the years since. In fact, so much has been done at this point that it's practically impossible to distinguish this residence from projects he has pursued from the ground up. COMPLETING A SCENE The homeowner is a wealthy land developer, a self-made man and a major fan of
To me, setting natural stone has always seemed something like assembling a very large jigsaw puzzle: All the pieces have to fit together, and there's definitely a right way and a wrong way to make it happen. I start the process systematically by laying stones out in an adequately large area and then just looking at them. As I go, I visualize how each will work as part of the overall composition and identify stones with either convex or concave contours that might fit together in some visual way. I'm constantly asking myself, "If I put this stone here and this other one right next to it, how will it work? Should I pick another stone and use a different combination?" Nature helps me in coming up with the answers, because
Serenity, comfort, repose. Delight in harmony with nature. These were the guiding principles behind The Point, one of 114 elegant homes gracing the 145-acre Hybernia development on the western boundary of Highland Park, a celebrated Chicago suburb located about 25 miles from downtown on a stretch of Lake Michigan known as the city's North Shore. We were initially called to Hybernia by a true visionary, David Hoffman, president of Red Seal Homes, the prime contractor for the development. He told us how his firm had struggled for years to acquire the parcels included in the development and wanted us to see that he was sensitive and attuned to the special nature of the setting and the history of its community. His first request: a design for a building that would house a pool and hydrotherapy spa for two of his most discriminating clients as a safe, secluded, calming harbor from their heavy international business travels. As it turned out, however, this was just the beginning of what would
Water and cement-based materials interact in so many ways and on so many levels that it's tough to sort everything out. From initial issues of hydration and curing to a range of longer-term, maintenance-related concerns, says chemistry expert Jeff Freeman, cementitious products in submerged environments react so distinctly to water's presence that it is indeed essential for watershapers to consider what's up when putting them together.
After a long, mostly weather-related break, it's finally time to return to the rolling hills near Hanover, Pa., and the huge, multi-phase watershaping project I began discussing in the fall of 2003. When we last visited the project in February 2004 (page 22), the primary gunite structures were in place; we are now proceeding with the meticulous work that will give the project its visual appeal. Even in unfinished condition, the pool complex is pretty impressive: a big, free-form vessel with a variety of features including an island spa, an enormous associated waterfeature, bridges and a range of bells and whistles I'll discuss in upcoming columns as the project draws to a close. As previously discussed, one of the defining design elements on this project is the extensive use of natural boulders and large expanses of stone decking. Even without the weather delays, these project phases alone have turned into
Watershaping advanced by leaps and bounds from 1999 through 2004 – a journey of artistry…
