coordination
One of the things we value most in our fountain projects is that no two of them are ever the same. I can make that same statement about our custom pool projects, of course, but it's a matter of degree: Where uniqueness from pool to pool is about selecting just the right possibilities among shapes, elevations and materials, for instance, from fountain to fountain it's about inventing and adapting technology and pushing accepted limits to make ideas work. The fountain under discussion in this article is a perfect illustration of that distinction. Making it happen was about
‘Although my business now focuses on design and consulting,’ declared Brian Van Bower near the top of his Aqua Culture column of June 2003, ‘I spent enough years as a contractor to be able to evaluate what goes on between contractor and clients.’ ‘In fact,’ he added, ‘in my role as designer, clients often turn to me with comments about their contractors – and they’re not shy about complaining or in telling me about what makes them happy. And it works the other way, too, because contractors, knowing that I have experience as a contractor myself, will often turn to me as someone who can
As I discussed in the June installment of this column, the construction of a backyard watershape environment requires careful and clear coordination - and sensitivity to the fact that watching the process unfold can be unpleasant or even traumatic for your clients. Without a doubt, the key to managing the process so that your clients don't become unhappy requires purposeful, up-front communication that sets realistic expectations for how the project will progress - and when. Similarly, you should also set up expectations for the inevitable
Everything about this job was big: the budget, the number of watershapes, the upscale location and, especially, the customer's expectations. The owners, Town Realty of Milwaukee, envisioned their five watershapes as the key amenities for a new condominium development in Cocoa Beach, Fla., a signature element that would woo potential buyers who visited the 124-unit vacation complex. To reach that goal, their project team gathered aquatic experts from all over the Sunshine State to create the plans and specifications, supervise the bidding process, oversee construction and
