pool design
It's a tale of two visions. One contingent in the family wanted a formal, architectural pool that would reflect the geometry of the home. The other wanted to borrow the natural look of the lake and rock formations that flowed down the sloping backyard. Such divergent themes are generally difficult to blend into a coherent design, but I managed to do it with a little help from some friends. The project, which involves placing a formal, geometric pool atop a formation of artificial rock that looms over a grotto and lagoon-like pool below, is still under construction at this writing. At this point, I'd have to say that the results should be just as spectacular as the design process was arduous. My company is based in Raleigh, N.C., which, although it is hardly a backwater, is not exactly at the epicenter of watershape design or construction expertise. To integrate this diverse clutch of elements, I felt a need to
It's a tale of two visions. One contingent in the family wanted a formal, architectural pool that would reflect the geometry of the home. The other wanted to borrow the natural look of the lake and rock formations that flowed down the sloping backyard. Such divergent themes are generally difficult to blend into a coherent design, but I managed to do it with a little help from some friends. The project, which involves placing a formal, geometric pool atop a formation of artificial rock that looms over a grotto and lagoon-like pool below, is still under construction at this writing. At this point, I'd have to say that the results should be just as spectacular as the design process was arduous. My company is based in Raleigh, N.C., which, although it is hardly a backwater, is not exactly at the epicenter of watershape design or construction expertise. To integrate this diverse clutch of elements, I felt a need to
A big part of properly designing watershapes to meet specific client needs has to do with understanding how they'll be using the body of water. I always explore this issue with my clients, which is why, for the most part, I don't do many pools with traditional deep ends - despite the fact that, for decades, most pools have been built with them. To me, in fact, the whole concept of deep water in residential swimming pools is basically misguided and largely obsolete. Consider exactly what it is that bathers can do in the deep end of a pool: They might dive, tread water or swim to the bottom to retrieve coins or pool toys - and, unfortunately, they can drown there, too. Yes, people also drown in shallow water, but there's no doubt that deeper waters provide
A big part of properly designing watershapes to meet specific client needs has to do with understanding how they'll be using the body of water. I always explore this issue with my clients, which is why, for the most part, I don't do many pools with traditional deep ends - despite the fact that, for decades, most pools have been built with them. To me, in fact, the whole concept of deep water in residential swimming pools is basically misguided and largely obsolete. Consider exactly what it is that bathers can do in the deep end of a pool: They might dive, tread water or swim to the bottom to retrieve coins or pool toys - and, unfortunately, they can drown there, too. Yes, people also drown in shallow water, but there's no doubt that deeper waters provide
In Costa Rica, the people have a saying, pura vida, which in English roughly translates to "pure life." We also are known to say, cual es el apuro, which means, "What's the hurry?" Those two unofficial national slogans reflect the essence of life in this country, where relaxation, an appreciation of natural beauty, love of family and a peaceful spirit are defining characteristics for the society. But even in a place like Costa Rica, where the pace of life is slow, relaxed and easy, timing is still everything. About three years ago, it occurred to me that a variety of social and economic factors were creating a watershape market in Costa Rica in which a truly high-end, quality-oriented custom company could become quite successful. Those factors - Costa Rica's rising profile as
As watershapes have become increasingly complex, the need for reliable hydraulic designs that maximize efficiency and reliability is now more pressing than it’s ever been, says hydraulics expert Steve Gutai. With this installment of his ongoing series on hydraulics, he launches a sequence of articles that will explore principles behind the fluid mechanics and hydraulics of custom
For years, conventional wisdom has held that many of the advances in watershape design incubate in the commercial realm and then slowly percolate over to the residential market as our clients ask for features they've seen on vacation and elsewhere. That paradigm holds up to this day in many ways, but what's less acknowledged and, I believe, more prevalent in today's market is an opposite trend in which commercial clients are requesting details that are more closely associated with residential pools. In fact, it's my observation that the
As watershapers, we occasionally are given the opportunity to interact with modern architecture in ways that enable us to generate genuine works of art. This trail linking some of today’s most expressive architecture to the reflective and auditory potential of water has been blazed by great designers including John Lautner, Ricardo Legorreta and Luis Barragan. They and their followers have thoroughly explored the geometries, materials and spatial relationships that make up the modern architectural dialogue between structures and water – and the results have often been breathtaking. Almost without exception, their success in these designs is a matter of context and the setting, and as one who has studied their projects for many years, I now have a clearer sense of the excitement they must have felt when things came together and everything about a project was just right. For the project pictured in these pages, a hilltop setting, the contemporary architecture of the home and willing clients set the stage for what is probably
Most people I know have a favorite vacation spot, a favorite leisure-time activity and a favorite form of self-indulgence. In creating backyard environments for these folks, we as watershapers and landscape designers often find ourselves able to roll elements of one, two or all three of those "favorite things" up in a single package in ways that closely reflect our clients' passions and personalities. At my company, we strive to make a direct connection with those preferences by letting our prospective clients know that we want to enable them to vacation in their own backyards and come home to outdoor environments that epitomize the good life. In some cases, that means
It's often said nowadays that watershaping is the art of fitting our work into the surrounding environment. In many ways, what we do at Star Pools in Houston is a prime application of that powerful yet basic concept in the way we tackle both the opportunities and limitations of the residential settings we encounter. Houston is dotted by affluent neighborhoods teeming with homes in classic Mediterranean and Tuscan styles. Stately is a word often used to describe these homes, and because we've based our design philosophy firmly on the idea that the swimming pool and garden areas should look as though they were designed as part of the home itself, our work is largely a manifestation of
