engineering
A grand California estate deserves a grand pool, and Cima del Mundo is certainly no exception. The new pool is part of a project that involves the complete renovation of a classic estate in the hills of Montecito, a prosperous enclave just south of Santa Barbara, Calif. In keeping with the overall theme of the project, which was described in detail in "The Crest of the World" (WaterShapes, January/February 2001, page 32), the pool has been outfitted with thoroughly
From the beginning of my career as a sculptor, I've mostly given myself over to two simple elements - metal and water - and have tried to develop approaches that turn one into an extension of the other. I like the sense that a sheet of flowing water completes the simple stainless steel shapes I create. I also like to play with illusion by creating the impression that the water appears to come from nowhere. And I like getting involved in the hydraulics of laminar flow by making the water emerge from steel as a smooth, cohesive sheet. In a sense, I draw constant inspiration from
Increasing numbers of our clients are asking for more from their watershapes - so many, in fact, that we're seeing an unprecedented blurring of the lines between swimming pools, spas and the full range of decorative waterfeatures. This demand is particularly strong in one area: In addition to projects that are functional, our clients want them to be visually compelling as well. This need has inspired designers at our firm (and elsewhere) to new levels of creativity. In certain instances, we at Leisure Living Pools in Frisco, Texas, have answered the call with spa designs that
When you work on projects in which stone is commonly measured in the thousands of tons and streams are frequently described in fractions of miles, you're not easily impressed by size. This job, however, was remarkably vast - a project driven by creative passion and a client's desire to turn a singular vision into reality. It's the kind of opportunity that doesn't come along every day, and when it did, we knew we'd have to give it everything we had. Our company, Glacier Inc. of Glenshaw, Pa., is a design and construction firm specializing in large natural and naturalistic bodies of water, and most of our work includes
I'm always looking for projects where I'm brought in to design the entire exterior environment, complete with hardscape, planting plans and watershapes. Working this way gives me a straight shot at integrating all of these major elements into cohesive designs that fit the setting. But I believe in collaboration, too, and in giving interested clients an opportunity to participate in the process. I listen carefully to what they say, factor in their budgets and then start working toward a suitable design. This integrated approach often requires intensive and extensive interaction with homeowners. Through it all, I'm flexible - but I'm also confident in my abilities, experience and expertise and generally end up installing something that closely matches my sense of the way things should be. When it works, everything goes smoothly. In the case of the project pictured in these pages, however, the process has been much more involved and is, 18 months into it, still ongoing in
If you're a watershaper of any kind, odds are that you build concrete slabs. You build them to create decks, set up equipment pads, establish sub-bases for finish materials - and for a variety of other essential construction purposes. No matter the application, it's important to build these slabs to last, which invariably means building them correctly. This isn't something that's important just for mega-buck projects: No matter whether you're working on $20,000 cookie-cutter pools or on custom projects at the very highest level, knowing how to
Home to some of the world's greatest outdoor spaces, Kyoto, Japan, is a garden lover's heaven. If you make the trip, however, there is one garden that stands above all others - an aesthetic treasure, a nature-inspired garden masterpiece that is quite possibly the most beautiful place I've ever been. Owned by the Japanese imperial family, Katsura Rikyu (pronounced kah-tsu-rah ree-kyu) is an estate in Western Kyoto near the Katsura River. Rikyu means "detached palace," but that translation is a little misleading to English speakers, because the estate does not
It's a grand watershape built at a time and place when "grand" was in fashion in so many ways. Ever since 1940, when the Raleigh Hotel and its beautiful swimming pool opened to the public for the first time, the establishment has made a statement about the sun-drenched glory of a prime South Florida location as well as the glamour of an era gone by. Designed and built by renowned architect L. Murray Dixon, the hotel and pool are located in South Beach, Miami's famed Art Deco district. The pool's curvaceous shape and modern styling reflected the hotel's architecture and the aspirations of the times. As the '40s wore on, it would become a swimming pool that was perfectly in sync with the world around it. When Miami boomed in the years following World War II, the hotel did, too. Vacationers and snowbirds from the great cities of the Northeast arrived in droves, looking for a new kind of excitement and an entirely different sort of glamour of the kind that featured
One of the skills of a good designer is the ability to recognize those situations in which less is more. The detail pictured in these pages, for example, shows how the choice to go with a small volume of moving water (as opposed to a torrent) can add immeasurably to a composition's visual strength. Using this understated approach helps the designer or builder avoid what has become one of the biggest clichés of modern pool design - that is, the outsized waterfall spilling over a single weir from a raised spa into an adjacent swimming pool. My desire to get away from that monotonous
The Getty Center is a true multi-media experience: imposing architecture, lots of people, incredible materials of construction, amazing views, diverse spaces, rich and varied sounds - and it's mostly all a bonus, because none of this has much to do with the Los Angeles center's core functions as museum and research institution. Designed by architect Richard Meier, the 750-acre campus is dominated by outsized structures wrapped in travertine, glass and enameled aluminum. It's all a bit cold (maybe time will soften the sharper edges and
