Mark Holden

2012/1.2, January 24 — Appropriate Design, Fort Worth Water Gardens, Ripples and more
January 25, 2012 WATERSHAPES.COM FEATURE ARTICLE What Goes with What? How do you decide what…
Watershapers Must Grow or Go! (Part 2)
In the first installment of this two-part opinion piece, watershaper and educator Mark Holden offered a scathing critique of what he views as the traditional pool industry. To read Part One in its entirety, click here. In the second installment of his two-part opinion piece, Holden offers
2011/8.1, August 10 — Great Hotel Pools, Industry Gut Check, Designing Courageously and more
August 10, 2011 WATERSHAPES.COM PHOTO GALLERY Are These Really the World’s Most Amazing Hotel Pools?…
Watershapers Must Grow or Go!
A few years ago, I made a conscious effort to turn my back on the narrow confines of the swimming pool industry and to focus instead on the profession of watershaping and its significantly broader foundation and expressive potential. It was a transition pushed both by
2011/3.1, March 16 — Water Chemistry, Lava Rocks, Elephants’ Rumps and more
March 16, 2011 WATERSHAPES.COM FEATURE ARTICLE Inside Total Dissolved Solids According to pool-industry veteran Kim…
Pachyderm Posteriors by the Pool
How many times have we seen a pile of artificial rocks plopped on the end or along the side of a freeform pool, left with no visual connection to anything else in the space? The answer, of course, is "countless times" - which prompts a far more important question: why? Why are we still seeing watershapes installed with edges that look to my eyes to be
Revisiting Hearst Castle
In a previous edition of WaterShapes EXTRA!, I discussed the merits and deficiencies of Hearst Castle, and was quickly rewarded with a torrent of other peoples’ opinions. In all of the many comments I’ve seen, one thing is clear: Hearst Castle is
2010/8.1, August 4 — Hearst Castle, Color Consistency, Interview and more
August 4, 2010 WATERSHAPES.COM TRAVELOGUE Hearst Castle: A Question of Balance Many consider William Randolph…
Hearst Castle: A Question of Balance
I just don't get Hearst Castle. Why should we celebrate the gross-scale purchases of historical artifacts and period-inspired structures by a wealthy American whose main pleasures seem to have involved amusing himself and overwhelming others? I am willing to concede that Hearst's San Simeon compound and collections impress
Villa d’Este: Fountain Perfection
If you're looking for a destination that includes, all in one place, several of the most enduring and influential watershapes of all time, you couldn't go wrong in visiting Villa d'Este — without question one of the