Global Watershaping

‘Have you had just about enough of the current chatter about the environment? Have the terms “global warming,” “carbon footprint” and “sustainable landscape” become more irritating to you than they are inspiring? If so,’ wrote Mark Holden in his Currents column for February 2010, ‘all I can say is that I don’t think you’ll like the future.’

‘In fact, the green movement . . . is rapidly on its way to becoming a mainstay of our shared cultural consciousness. While there are certain political and social aspects of the discussion that are undeniably annoying, the phenomenon is being driven by practicalities to such an extent that the revolution is, I think, here to stay.’ He continued:

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‘Back in October 2009, I engaged in . . . a discussion of the carbon footprints our beautiful creations carry. If you’ll recall, I brought my discussion to its turning point by asking, “How do we shape water in planet-friendly ways?” The cynic in me knew that many of you would likely dismiss or even ridicule my “green-tinged ravings,” but to my surprise, most of the immediate feedback I received was from watershapers who told me that they are already building with the planet in mind.’

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‘The reality is that this is going on right now, despite the fact that the greater watershaping industry has done little to get involved.’

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‘[For instance,] we live in a world where almost all of the electrical products are designed around the wonderful, spinning turbines that give us AC current and send it across mile after mile of transmission lines. It’s the infrastructure we’ve had for more than a century – and it severely limits what we can accomplish.’

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‘So what we need in order to install greener pools (that run off photovoltaic cells that power DC pump motors) is a retooling of our own industry and several more industries besides – retooled manufacturing, reconstituted utilities and reorganized assumptions – to make suitable (greener) products generally available at comparable prices.’

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‘Let’s take things to an even grittier level with the observation that watershapers dump immense volumes of concrete and hardscape waste into landfills with most projects – especially renovations. We start by ripping up a driveway and taking the concrete to a local disposal site – then we bring the exact same material back to the job site in a semi-liquid form and let it harden into the same traversable flat stuff. Thinking about the process at this level opens all sorts of new doors in watershape design and construction.’

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‘[F]or those of you who can’t let go of the good old days, a time is coming when you may have no choice. . . . [D]esign is the first step. Our plans must provide exact instructions on how to demolish, reuse and recycle existing materials. They must hold builders to a strict set of standards that, I think, almost inevitably will become legal requirements before too much more time passes.’

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‘In my book, . . . I think we’d all do better by pushing the envelope along ourselves, farther and faster. And I know there are watershapers out there who are doing exactly this, getting out ahead of the curve and setting their own standards for methods and performance.’

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‘As I’ve stood in front of classrooms filled with aspiring landscape architects, I get a sense that the answers to [our green] questions have already been determined. If the products they are demanding are available to them when they need them, then watershaping has a future. If not, these professionals will move along to other decorative or functional possibilities and the watershaping industry as we know it will fade away.’

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‘If that sounds apocalyptic,’ Mark concluded, ‘well, I guess it is. My hope is that a positive, engaged response will be forthcoming and we can all move ahead together in a world in which a new, green way of thinking will become a pillar supporting us and our businesses.’

In the five years since Mark wrote this column, has the momentum of the green movement changed? As you see it, is the process apocalyptic – or is it evolutionary? Please share your thoughts on this crucial issue by commenting below!

Mark Holden is a landscape architect, pool contractor and teacher who owns and operates Holdenwater, a design/build/consulting firm based in Fullerton, Calif. He may be reached via e-mail at [email protected].