authenticity

2019/12.1, December 4 — Saving the Day, Sharing Insights, Glass-Tile Glory and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS December 4, 2019 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
Up from the Ruins
My recent article in WaterShapes left readers in some suspense. As reported last time (click here), we were most of the way through the design process and were actually getting ready to start important work on site when the homeowners sprung something new on us. They'd just returned from a trip to Europe, and they'd been so inspired by what they'd seen that they wondered if we could inject a sense of the "Old World" into the project. The goal had previously been about creating a naturalistic setting in which wilderness seemed intent on reclaiming the space. Their fresh desire was to make explicit the notion that a
Beneath the Shell
It's not often that an opportunity to work on anything as renowned as the Neptune Pool comes around. Built first as a reflecting pool, transformed into an oval-shaped plunge pool and, as Hearst Castle assumed massive proportions, ultimately finished as a 350,000-gallon swimming pool that's probably the most widely recognized watershape in the world, it's a pleasure just to see it, let alone help preserve it for future generations. We at Terracon, an engineering firm based in Olathe, Kans., came to the project through our acquisition late in 2014 of Rowley International, the aquatic design and engineering company based in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. William Rowley, its principal and a specialist in sophisticated aquatic complexes - and, equally important
2018/5.2, May 16 — Double-Shell Pop, Pond Pandemonium, Flowing Symbolism and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS May 16, 2018 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
Urban Renewal
What we have here is essentially three stories rolled into one. Partly, it's about what happens when a well-established company steps beyond its comfort zone with a major renovation project that involves an unusually large set of unknowns.  It's also about what can happen to a property when an old, large, man-made pond system breaks down, time passes and the space reverts to a wild, natural state.  And it's about what's involved in pulling a failed
2012/6.1, June 6 — Hiding Headwaters, Step Lighting, Purposeful Travel and more
June 6, 2012 WATERSHAPES.COM ESSENTIAL The Hidden Source Creating natural-looking cascades and waterfalls requires the…
Heritage Trails
The renovation and restoration of historic watershapes and their surroundings is a rather peculiar specialty.  After all, such projects don’t come along very often and never amount to enough to be considered a primary business focus.   Even so, whenever and wherever they present themselves, those who get involved must always be ready to meet sets of very specific and often unusual challenges. The fact that these sites are historic, for instance, means that they also tend to be old, so they almost invariably come with surprises with respect to how they were originally built, what sort of remodeling and repair work has been done through the years, how they’ve been maintained and, often, the degree to which they’ve suffered from neglect or even abuse.  Original plans can be hard to come by, so from the start there’s a need for a good bit of educated guesswork and a fair measure of improvisation. On top of that, you also have to be prepared to deal with members of any number of community organizations and historical societies ( not to mention concerned citizens, donors and benefactors) – all of whom have
Reclaiming Olympic Gold
It may have been in the heart of the depression, but 1932 was a good year for American swimmers:  The Olympic Games in Los Angeles saw Clarence "Buster" Crabbe win gold in the 400-meter freestyle in the then-world-record time of 4:48.2 and Helene Madison win gold medals in both the 100- and 400-meter freestyle events.  U.S. swimmers claimed nine medals in all, in many cases besting swimmers from the powerful and heavily favored Japanese team.   The competition was held in an eight lane, 50-meter pool positioned quite literally in the shadow of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  Just as the names and records of those swimmers have faded across 70-plus years, so too had the swimming pool and its companion recreation pool.  Although they had remained in near-continuous use for generations, the old vessels were supplanted when a modern swimming pool complex opened on the nearby campus of the University of Southern California in anticipation of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympiad. Early in 2003, we at Rowley International of Palos Verdes Estates, Calif., were asked to renovate the old facility's two swimming pools.  The City of Los Angeles, along with support from the Amateur Athletic Federation (AAF), set a goal that didn't involve
Design Decisions
I was hired recently to work on a substantial restoration project in a prominent Los Angeles neighborhood.  I'd worked previously with the architect on a large estate, and he had referred me to the homeowners.  After a couple of meetings, we determined we were all a good fit, and I was hired to design the exterior spaces of the home in collaboration with the architect, the contractor and the decorator. About a month into the project, the interior decorator was let go in favor of a restoration specialist.  By that time, it was clear that many of the design decisions being made were not in keeping with
Historic Resonance
Occasionally, we run pairs or sets of articles that seem to have nothing in common at first glance, but that actually, on closer examination, harmonize in unexpected and important ways.  To be sure, we quite deliberately revisit key themes throughout the pages of all of our issues, but sometimes, it seems, the most powerful music