infinity
Vanishing-edge walls have been a common design detail for the past 25-odd years and have been the subject of seminars and workshops almost as long as I can remember. Still, it's clear that there are several key points about how they should be designed and installed that elude watershapers who persist in treating these key structural components as little more than glorified in-pool spa dam walls or some other internal detail. You can probably
I see something of this nature on the web about once a week in peak season and about monthly this cooler time of year. In this instance, it was labeled as "55 Most Awesome Swimming Pool Designs on the Planet." I feel obliged to check out these things, but I always do so with a high level of reluctance because I've generally seen all of the collected pools before and almost invariably end up
Even after all these years, in which countless seminars and classes have covered proper techniques for designing, engineering and building vanishing-edge pools, I am still all-too-frequently confronted in my role as a construction-defects expert witness by installations that are just plain wrong in one way or another. The biggest problems usually have to do with the
‘I want the house to look as though it is floating on water.” That was what architect Victor Canas told me when I was called out to visit this site on the northwestern coast of Costa Rica. It was a brilliant idea, certainly one that befitted the spectacular mountaintop setting and its breathtaking 360-degree views of rugged coastline, forest greenery and assorted perspectives to horizons in all directions. I had the advantage in this case of already having built a
With water-in-transit effects becoming more and more popular, increasing numbers of watershapers find themselves in need of external tanks to give these systems the surge capacity they need to function at peak efficiency. Here, Paolo Benedetti discusses his preferences when it comes to setting up his surge tanks – and defines a number of issues designers and builders should consider in making them both reliable and serviceable. As a rule, the surge tanks used in
Sometimes watershaping is so much fun that it seems less like a job than a labor of love. That was absolutely the case with the watershape pictured here: I was given free rein to do exactly what I thought was needed in collaboration with great clients and a wonderful project team on a spectacular property. And as if that wasn’t good enough, we ran into virtually no problems along the way, even though we were working in a city sometimes known for setting obstacles in the way of ambitious designs. We at Pure Water Pools (Costa Mesa, Calif.) get involved in numerous custom projects every year, and the work just seems to get more creative, interesting and satisfying as we move along. I’m not willing to say we’ve peaked by any stretch of the imagination, but it feels good to think that this may well be
When used to classify a design style, the term “modern” can carry many meanings. From the soaring, audacious forms of Frank Gehry and the sweeping organic spaces of John Lautner to the hard rectilinear shapes of Le Corbusier and the gem-like transparency of Mies van der Rohe, modernism is truly a broad conceptual umbrella. That sprawling diversity leaves designers and their clients with lots of wiggle room to get things done, but even so there can be challenges – as in the case depicted here, where the clients' desire for
The design and installation of the circulation, filtration and chemical-treatment systems for the pools at St. Lucia's Jade Mountain was a task of monumental proportions and extreme technical, physical and logistical difficulty. The effort was spearheaded by watershaper/hydraulics expert Chris Barnes, who spent months on site installing precision systems engineered to provide years of nearly maintenance-free service. Installing the circulation systems for the pools at Jade Mountain was a challenge unlike any other. I was first approached about the project by my good friend, Skip Phillips, who explained that he had already been working on the project's design for several years and indicated that it was going to be something truly amazing. He observed that the owner and his design team didn't have anyone in place with any experience with the installation of extremely complex watershapes and suggested that I might be the one to step up to the challenge and keep
They don’t come along very often, but every once in a while some of us are fortunate enough to become involved with a project that redefines what watershaping is all about. St. Lucia’s Jade Mountain was one of those remarkable opportunities, and no matter how long I’ll be in this business, I’m certain there will never be another project quite like this one. For starters, it stands as perhaps the most extensive and spectacular all-time use of the vanishing edge – ever, anywhere – all set in one of the most unusual buildings ever imagined for a resort property in a location that is almost indescribably beautiful. The brainchild of architect/owner Nick Troubetzkoy, Jade Mountain is
