Professional Watershaping

Remembering a Leader: Vance Gillette
As the pool industry mourns the passing of renown leader and advocate, Vance Gillette, WaterShapes editor and long-time friend, Eric Herman, offers a reflection on the career and influence of one of the industry’s most charismatic and outspoken proponents. ...
Breaking Ground with Expanding Demolition Grout
There’s more than one way to break apart a rock, or an old retaining wall, or any other dispensable stone or concrete structure. From jackhammers to dynamite, demolitionists have always had options. Here Mike Nantz discusses a lesser known method that is both quieter and more precise than other more dramatic forms of deconstruction. ...
For the Love of Sea Turtles
Are sea turtles medicine? To survive, sea turtles need our help and are the perfect group of animals for Wildlife Conservation Therapy, which helps us in return, explained the late Wallace J. Nichols in this widely read essay on the importance of sea turtles. ...
Square Roots & Cross Purposes
Tailoring pool designs that marry the clients’ desires with the setting is always top-of-mind for Joan Roca. Here, he describes a project on the Florida coast that stands as a perfect example of his design approach. In this case, he turned to a basic shape and a host of custom details, to create a watershape that offers function, and a striking centerpiece that unifies house, land and sea.     ...
Theme Ships Ahoy
Given that ships and shipwrecks are inherently tied to water, it only makes sense that interactive, ship-themed splashpad water features are a natural fit, for ocean enthusiasts and landlopers alike. Here’s a look inside the popular interactive-fountain genre. ...
WU Launches New Student Experience Portal
Watershapes University is proud to announce a new user portal platform now available for all existing and future WU students. This new user experience consolidates multiple functions and databases into one, easy-to-use portal with a single sign-on that facilitates enrolling in live and online courses, and receiving certifications for course completions. It’s a useful tool that will help WU students access the education they need to reach their full potential. ...
Waterparks From the Start
In 2022, waterpark operations legend, Billy Hamilton, was inducted into the World Waterpark Association Hall of Fame, honored for his pioneering work maintaining water quality on a mass scale. Here he shares his story with an eye toward the innovative spirit and experimentation that put him on the forefront of the industry’s most complex and challenging commercial facilities. ...
Inside Turkish Baths
As the wellness trend surges the world over, the traditional practice and design of Turkish baths are gaining renewed interest, both for the health benefits they afford, as well as their aesthetic beauty. Here’s a peak inside these exotic havens of rest and rejuvenation. ...
Gentle Solutions (Rejecting the Use of Muriatic Acid on Fresh Plaster)
Using acid on newly installed cementitious surfaces is a bad idea, says plaster expert and teacher, Jon Temple. Here he explains his approach to using milder solutions removing mineral residue on exposed aggregate surfaces as a way to avoid common problems and defects. ...
Nature Made by Design
According to pond specialist, Larry Carnes, in order to mimic nature when designing and building ponds, waterfalls and streams, the process involves a comprehensive understanding of geological principles, the plant kingdom, water treatment, and how to avoid telltale mistakes. ...