Jim, Author at Water Shapes

In the second part of his series on the design process, Kurt Kraisinger takes us through the initial stages -- client contact, site visits, design meetings and more -- as the pieces of the puzzle scattered across Part 1 begin to coalesce into a coherent, workable design scheme.

The Show Begins

Each custom design project is, of course, different from any other. The client may be a known quantity, but the site and the budget won't be and, as professionals, we always end up responding to unique sets of variables with eyes wide open. In the first part of this series, we looked at the disembodied details and components that made up one of these unique design packages. Starting with this part and continuing into the next, we'll examine at what was involved in assembling that particular set of features and, in this article, look specifically at how my collaboration with the client proceeded from initial contact to acceptance of a preliminary design. Obviously, what I'll describe here is

The opportunity to work on a project where teaching is the objective is hard to resist, notes Ed Beaulieu. But making it happen in ways that entertain while they educate is quite a feat when the underlying messages are as complex and significant as they are at Reed Street Yards.

Educational Flows

Among the most rewarding of all the projects I tackle are those in which a pond, stream or waterfall is meant to be a teaching tool. The lessons don't have to be difficult to grasp or challenging to deliver: They simply add a layer of meaning, depth and value to the work that sharpens my interest and lifts my spirits. The stream system at Reed Street Yards in Milwaukee, Wisc., was a source of just this form of personal satisfaction: The city has been positioning itself as a global leader in all things related to freshwater systems, and my participation here had to do with an incubator/think tank complex aimed at expanding on the efforts of the

The Swimming’s Fine

Ever since March 20, I've been intending to complete the commentary I started on a book about the history of swimming, but other, more time-sensitive topics have gotten in the way. Now, at last, I'm back on track. As you may recall, Strokes of Genius was written by