pool design
We live in a wonderful era of creative development in a variety of watershaping trades and are truly blessed, it seems, with an ever-expanding generation of talented artists and a sense that our most dynamic creations are yet to be built. For all of this forward momentum, however, I find myself surprised and dismayed all too often by the lack of creativity that goes into our work below the water's surface. To my eyes, pool and spa interiors in particular are simply bland and boring. I'm oppressed by six-inch waterline tile surmounting a field of
Change can be both exciting and terrifying. In my experience, the biggest changes often come with the potential for tremendous rewards, but also with significant risk. During the past two years, such change has come for our company in the form of an all-encompassing transformation that has involved every aspect of the way we do business. We've gone from trying to mass-produce affordable swimming pools and hardscape designs (and fighting for every dime we made along the way) to building only high-end, custom projects where we never compromise on quality - and make generous
Vanishing-edge pools are all about changing the relationship of the water to its surroundings. They enable the water to reflect views and create visual links to the surrounding scenery in dramatic and surprising ways that simply can't be achieved with conventional designs. The same distinction is true of perimeter-overflow systems and pools with deck-level (or slot-overflow) designs, which is why I classify all three together as "water-in-transit" systems. There's a lot of diversity under that big conceptual umbrella, but these pools share
Let me introduce you to an exciting project I've been working on most of this year. Right from the top, I'll say that even in the realm of the unique and rarified, this one is truly amazing. The clients are quite well-to-do, and the moment you walk into their home, you can't help recognizing that they are accomplished art collectors with an eye for modern masters as well as folk art. Their beachfront Malibu, Calif., home - one of
Color is amazing. It provides us with some of greatest opportunities we ever have to create spaces that are emotionally evocative and visually compelling - yet it is also one of the most difficult design details to understand and put to good and effective use. Trouble is, there's no easy way to simplify the challenge: Color is indeed a tough nut to crack, and that's as true for architects, artists, fashion designers and the people who choose colors for new
Throughout recorded history, people have tried to control the elements in every which way they can. We plant trees to block the wind, build levees to hold back rising river water and dikes to hold back the seas. We build skyscrapers that defy gravity, winds and earthquakes. For all of this ingenuity, however, we sometimes don't do a very good job. When our efforts to control the elements fail on a large scale, we witness catastrophes that
The way we see it, the most successful watershapes take two participants: a visionary designer who can express the clients' desires, and an accomplished builder who can turn that creative vision into reality. Sometimes, the designer and builder are one and the same person or organization. In many other instances, however, it is the collaboration of two professionals from opposite ends of a project that makes the difference between a watershape that is simply a watershape - and a watershape that is truly a
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
It was one of those projects that demonstrate just how beautiful and exciting swimming pools and spas can be. The clients started by asking for something unique that would make creative use of lighting, hydraulics and sound - something that would maximize and extend the modern styling of their home while making the most of spectacular views available along the shore at Westhampton Beach, N.Y. Their confidence in our capabilities and creativity set the tone for the entire project and let us step well beyond the ordinary in our thought processes. This trust was
Of all the things I've learned in my work as a watershape designer and builder, one particular point stands out: When it comes to ensuring quality results and a project's success, there's absolutely no substitute for good supervision! I say this knowing that most job sites run by people in the pool industry are inadequately supervised if they're supervised at all. Yet experience shows, time and time again, that while complete, professional plans are part of success and that great subcontractors are essential, constant oversight is the absolute
