faux rock design

From expansive commercial installations to small backyard waterfeatures, artificial rockwork has become a mainstay for many watershapers – and for good reason: It allows the builder to achieve looks that might not have been possible otherwise, and to do so at reasonable cost. In this feature, experienced faux-rock designer and installer Ken Macaire covers some of the principles he applies in selecting formations and in creating rockworks that dazzle the eye while looking truly ‘natural.’

Creating Good Impressions

The most important use of faux rock is to make a geological statement - to provide an important accent or focal point in a landscape where none exists. My goal is to create rock formations that complement and enhance the natural setting and fit in harmoniously with their surroundings. That's a point builders who use artificial rock sometimes fail to grasp. They'll execute an ambitious scheme with lots of interesting, well-crafted rockwork, but it ultimately looks unnatural because the rocks they've created have no logical relationship to any indigenous formations or anything else in the surrounding space. I approach things in a different way - one that embraces the site and all of its features. I select, form and install faux rocks that, together, create interesting and beautiful statements in the overall landscape design. As I work, I make my installations to stand up to the question, "Is this rock formation