control systems
Hayward Industries (Elizabeth, N.J.) has expanded its OmniPL line of mid-range smart pool and spa…
Poolsmith Technologies (Phoenix, AZ) has launched the Organic pH control system for pools. The easy-to-install…
It's easy to back up an assertion that a good fountain is the key to making a public space work. A monumental statue is great, for instance, but when you add water even in the quiescent form of a reflecting pool, the visitor's experience of the installation is enhanced in many ways. And while big, open plazas may serve as ready-made gathering places, if you add even a small fountain, the overall space will be defined by its presence and visitors will inevitably be drawn to it as a focal point. Public fountains take many forms, but whatever the specifics, their
Three words come to mind when I consider what's been happening with the Main Fountain Garden at Longwood Gardens for the last two-and-a-half years: ambitious, audacious and amazing. The people behind the project, from Longwood's management team to all of the outside players who signed on to get the work done, were supremely ambitious in deciding to reconstruct a historic national treasure - first commissioned in 1931 - and bring it abruptly up to 21st-century standards for performance, automation and serviceability. They were audacious to the extent that they decided that all of this should happen in plain view, with no visual obstructions to hide what was going on from the public at large - no construction pen, no yellow tape, no barriers of any kind to keep the observers who crowd the fountain's famed Conservatory Terrace from seeing exactly what was happening with their beloved water display. But so amazing! Although it had been in decline
Projects in significant public spaces are rewarding on many levels, but they also carry their fair share of challenges, mostly in the forms of scheduling, coordination and communication. For us at Crystal Fountains (Concord, Ontario, Canada), these hurdles are beyond familiar: For decades, we've been a go-to working partner for fountain and interactive waterfeature projects around the world, from the Crown Fountain
ControlOMatic (Grass Valley, CA) now offers the MiniWarden, a pH/ORP controller. Designed for low-cost efficiency,…
Some projects carry obvious prestige, and this is one of them: The pair of reflecting pools and the sculpture that rises above them stand in front of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas - home to the Dallas Cowboys and, several times a year, host to nationally televised football games. But certain of these prestige projects take on extra dimensions - and this was one of them, too: The mirror-finished dish that surmounts the watershapes
Conserving water in a serious way is something many of us have had to do at one time or another. Whether it has resulted from drought or some other condition affecting local supplies, we know that any sort of shortage has significant implications not just for us, but for our communities, clients and landscapes as well. In those landscapes, water conservation is about finding ways to reduce water use and coming up with more efficient ways to use it. This is essential to ensuring the survival of plants (and our livelihoods) and has to do with giving gardens the amount of water they need to thrive: Too little, and plants will shrivel up and die; too much, and many will drown just as surely. For the most part, what landshapers encounter is the need to cope with shortfalls and pronounced dry spells rather than floods, which is why most professionals install irrigation systems that make it easier for
An amenity once found almost exclusively on major commercial properties, sophisticated outdoor sound systems are becoming increasingly popular in today's residential landscapes and gardens. In fact, says audio specialist Scott Sylvester, modern speaker systems are adding all-new dimensions to exterior spaces, giving watershapers and others the opportunity to provide their clients and guests with a complete outdoor sensory experience.
