design
Sometimes finding just what you need is as easy as looking in your own backyard. That’s what happened for Greg Whittaker of Whittaker Homes, one of Missouri’s largest home builders, when he began searching for the right partner to provide dramatic watershapes for New Town, an innovative community in St. Charles, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis. Situated on the site of what had been a farming community, New Town is intended to invoke and embody a comfortable lifestyle for the 21st Century. Parklands filled with water were the key to Whittaker’s vision not just for aesthetic and thematic reasons, but also for stormwater management. While visiting St. Louis’ Forest Park, a venerable civic treasure, Whittaker saw the
Although the concept is relatively unfamiliar in the United States and largely untested here, pools supported by an entirely natural approach to filtration and water management have been under development in Europe for decades and have caught on there in a big way in recent years. In this special feature, German watershaper and natural-pool expert Rainer Grafinger discusses the ‘technology’ behind this potent European trend. For most people in the United States, swimming is far from a natural experience: Bathers move back and forth in man-made, chemically treated backyard or public swimming pools and seldom (if ever) find themselves in
It’s unlikely that anyone back in 1992 would have imagined that the daughter of fashion designer Calvin Klein would change the way we think of swimming pools. That might be a slight exaggeration, but to me there’s no question that Pools by Kelly Klein, first published by Rizzoli 15 years ago and re-released late in 2007, was unique at that time in treating pool design as a legitimate art form. In many ways, in fact, I think her book may well have ignited the design revolution that has unfolded in the years since it was first published. I didn’t run across this oversized volume until 1999, when I attended
The most important skill needed by any designer is the ability to communicate clearly. This skill takes many forms, from verbal descriptions, well-assembled photographs and material samples to graphical depictions of concepts, details, dimensioned layouts and other drawn elements. When a watershaper is pushing design limits, in fact, he or she is often called upon to use all of these communication tools to convey ideas and aspire to offer something unique. In recent years, computer-aided design (CAD) systems have become increasingly popular as a tool in preparing construction drawings. Combined with the designer's creativity, these programs assist greatly in the production of plans. Unfortunately, however, our usage of them varies greatly in style and content from project to project and designer to designer. Indeed, these variations can be so radical that some plans are not easily understood by other professionals; moreover, the exchange of electronic CAD files is not always as convenient or efficient as it should be. This is why a group of industry experts has banded together to create the National CAD Standard (NCS), which is the core subject of this brief series of articles. That effort, which has met
The most important skill needed by any designer is the ability to communicate clearly. This skill takes many forms, from verbal descriptions, well-assembled photographs and material samples to graphical depictions of concepts, details, dimensioned layouts and other drawn elements. When a watershaper is pushing design limits, in fact, he or she is often called upon to use all of these communication tools to convey ideas and aspire to offer something unique. In recent years, computer-aided design (CAD) systems have become increasingly popular as a tool in preparing construction drawings. Combined with the designer's creativity, these programs assist greatly in the production of plans. Unfortunately, however, our usage of them varies greatly in style and content from project to project and designer to designer. Indeed, these variations can be so radical that some plans are not easily understood by other professionals; moreover, the exchange of electronic CAD files is not always as convenient or efficient as it should be. This is why a group of industry experts has banded together to create the National CAD Standard (NCS), which is the core subject of this brief series of articles. That effort, which has met
Landscape-lighting design is my obsession: Not only do I make my living at it, but it has also reached a point where it informs the way I look at every landscape and watershape I encounter - whether I'm working on those spaces or not. When I visit almost any site - and particularly when I spot an interesting garden - I almost instantaneously begin formulating ideas about how I'd light it. That's a good thing, because it keeps me professionally sharp, but it's also a bit addictive: Once you start visualizing how dynamic particular places can be when properly lit, you get hooked on the mental exercise and start enjoying the intensity of the experience. In the beginning, of course, those clear visualizations
Landscape-lighting design is my obsession: Not only do I make my living at it, but it has also reached a point where it informs the way I look at every landscape and watershape I encounter - whether I'm working on those spaces or not. When I visit almost any site - and particularly when I spot an interesting garden - I almost instantaneously begin formulating ideas about how I'd light it. That's a good thing, because it keeps me professionally sharp, but it's also a bit addictive: Once you start visualizing how dynamic particular places can be when properly lit, you get hooked on the mental exercise and start enjoying the intensity of the experience. In the beginning, of course, those clear visualizations
Specializing in naturalistic watershapes obviously requires an appreciation of nature, says Atlanta-based pond/stream specialist Robert Vaughn, but doing a good job of emulating what happens in and around natural bodies of water also calls for a refined set of design and installation skills – especially when the goal is to create watershapes that appear right at home amid rolling topographies and densely wooded landscapes. The Atlanta area is a great place to be a watershaper these days. The natural landscape is beautiful with its undulating terrain and dense tree canopy, and there are plenty of affluent, upscale neighborhoods in which skills may be applied in support of clients who have the wherewithal to demand something special. That combination of attributes adds up to great opportunities for companies like mine – Earthwerx of Carterville, Ga. – that focus on crafting nature-inspired paradises in substantial backyards. Indeed, this is a market in which prospective clients are passionate about enjoying their homes and their surroundings instead of engaging in the hassles and perceived risks of travel. In addition, where property values and home equities in other markets have taken a hit in the past year, the
We may be well into our ninth year of publication, but I'm still amazed and often amused by the ways that some people choose to describe WaterShapes. I've heard some armchair critics, for instance, dismiss us "a pool magazine that covers ponds," "a pond magazine that covers pools" or "a fountain magazine with
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