function
With increasing frequency, I've been getting involved in creating total, comprehensive backyard designs for my clients. From the pool and spa to shade structures and pool houses, from planting plans to entertainment areas and outdoor kitchens, if they want it, I'm at the ready to meet all of their needs. I love this trend, partly because it enables me to
In large parts of the country, pool owners are happy that there's no need to winterize their watershapes the way it's typically done across the northern states: No need to shut down systems, draw down the water level and cover things up tight from October until March or April. In lots of warmer places, however, there's a benefit to adapting a component of those seasonal northern practices for the worthy purpose of keeping leaves in Texas or Florida or California from
In large parts of the country, pool owners are happy that there's no need to winterize their watershapes the way it's typically done across the northern states: No need to shut down systems, draw down the water level and cover things up tight from October until March or April. In lots of warmer places, however, there's a benefit to adapting a component of those seasonal northern practices for the worthy purpose of keeping leaves in Texas or Florida or California from
When it comes to the old buildings that people most want to preserve, the good-looking ones always top the list. These structures are cherished because they make strong aesthetic statements and are often associated with a given period of history, a particular architect or a specific design movement. As an architect working to create public and institutional aquatic complexes, I try to think of my designs in those enduring terms. In other words, I want to develop watershapes that make strong aesthetic statements and therefore have a chance to be cherished and therefore stand a better chance of being preserved, well used and enjoyed for generations to come. I do so because a facility that is both functional and beautiful will, I think, inevitably be of greater value to its community than one that is simply functional. Ugly buildings do the exact same job as beautiful ones in sheltering human activities, but which are more likely to generate excitement, enjoyment and value for the long haul? The answer, I think, is obvious. As a result, I see aquatic facilities as places that should be
Skimmers are found in just about every type of watershape imaginable, including gunite, vinyl-lined, fiberglass and aboveground pools as well as in-ground and portable spas - not to mention ponds, stream and fountains. In each case, specific skimmers have been designed to serve the individual applications. For purposes of this discussion, let's keep things simple by sticking to skimmers' most familiar application - in gunite swimming pools. A KEY ROLE The main function of a pool's skimmer is removal of debris from the surface of the water. To do so, the skimmer is connected to the suction-side plumbing of the pool's pump and draws water across a weir (or a float) as a result of the vacuum created by the pump. The weir (or float) is buoyant by nature and allows only a
We've spent a lot of time in these columns talking about ways of adding dimension and interest to gardens by using different planting styles and arrangements and by varying color, texture, size, quantity and other planted features of the design. As yet, however, we haven't spent any time at all on one of the easiest and potentially most interesting ways of giving a design a unique character - one that virtually forces visitors to remember your garden. It's all about containers and accessories. As simple as it seems, adding containers and other accessories - anything from simple terra cotta pots or stone benches to elaborately custom-built planter boxes or beautifully detailed garden statuary - can add marks of
Frank Lloyd Wright once said that architecture is the art form to which all others subordinate. That's a bold comment from a man whose amazing achievements were matched only by
It's a simple fact: No matter where you are on the globe, ultimately it's dark exactly half the time. So no matter how beautiful your watershapes may be, if you don't fully consider lighting as a key component of your projects, you may be robbing your work of half its potential for pleasing your clients. That makes it a bottom-line issue, because lighting adds real value to most any watershape installation with a long list of benefits. For starters, it extends the time a watershape can be used beyond daylight hours. It also adds
Retaining walls are used for one simple reason: to hold something back. Whether you need to terrace down to a lower yard, hold up a house on a hillside lot or provide a level area for watershape installation, these walls are indispensable when you lack the room needed to grade a sloped area gradually. Of course, this notion of holding back the forces of ground movement is no small challenge, and proper engineering and construction are critical. Do the job well, and a retaining wall will hold up indefinitely. But if you cut corners or
