Tag: rain curtain

Vertical Pursuits

As is true of all architectural forms, the design of watershapes calls for thinking in three dimensions. In fact, say Texas pool builders Paul Ryan and E.C. Medley, the integration of a vertical dimension is crucial to success, both as a way to contrast to the sublime flatness of the water's calm surface and to echo surrounding architectural styles and motifs.By Paul Ryan & E.C. Medley

Given the way bodies of water interact with gravity, a great deal of the personality of any swimming pool is set by the flat surface of the water and its reflective qualities. In our work, we’ve found a variety of ways to capitalize on that flatness by creating focal points that are distinctly vertical in nature.

In fact, we’ve found that working on the “y axis” and focusing on upright structures as diverse as arches, walls, columns and waterfalls can yield a variety of stunning visual effects:  Exterior spaces and vistas can be connected or distinguished, architectural shapes can be contrasted or echoed, shadows or reflections can be cast, and privacy or openness can be enhanced.

The fact that these effects cut both ways makes them appealing to a custom builder who strives to give clients something unique and lets the characteristics of the individual setting drive the design process.  It makes the work more challenging, yes, but it also makes it more fun and rewarding.

In many cases, the vertical elements we use can be subtle and retiring – a slightly raised bond beam, for example, or a small waterfall.  More often than not, however, we gravitate toward the bold and declarative by integrating water into architectural forms and creating dramatic and

Big Ideas, Small Space

The yard was quite long and narrow, and so was the tightly confined access path. But Scott Cohen has enough experience in dealing with compact backyards that he's always ready, as he demonstrates here, to deliver a design that suits the space -- and his client's expectations. By Scott Cohen

It’s a class of projects I’m coming across more and more often these days: Clients with homes in new developments want swimming pools and spas for their backyards, but the buildings are so big and consume so much of the available real estate that finding places to put worthy watershapes is a real challenge.

The difficulty, of course, is that these homeowners are just like the owners of larger properties in wanting more than just pools and spas these days: They’re thinking about generous seating and dining areas, outdoor

2020/1.2, January 22 — Small Considerations, Corporate Teamwork, Helical Sweep and more

THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS January 22, 2020 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE Big Ideas, Small Space The yard was quite long and narrow, and so was the tightly confined access path. ButScott Cohenhas enough experience in dealing with compact backyards that he’s always ready, as he demonstrates here, to deliver a design […]

Entertaining Possibilities

If there's one thing he's learned in completing projects for clients who can afford whatever they want, it's that planning is the key. But before that, notes Ryan Hughes, he needs a design that makes sense, suits the site and gives him every opportunity to pursue both fun and beauty.By Ryan Hughes

Some of our favorite projects have gotten us involved with an unusual class of clients.

These folks are affluent enough that they travel extensively and own multiple homes in spots around the world – places they’ll stay for stretches ranging from a couple weeks to several months each year. When it comes to developing or remodeling new acquisitions, they’ll set some basic ground rules and step back, leaving the specifics to a trusted firm or individual who assembles a hand-picked

2019/10.2, October 23 — Organizing Beauty, Assembling Components, Roberto’s World and more

THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS October 23, 2019 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE Entertaining Possibilities If there’s one thing he’s learned in completing projects for clients who can afford whatever they want,it’s that planning is the key. But before that, notesRyan Hughes, he needs a design that makes sense, suits the site and […]

Great American Offers Aqua Storm

Great American Waterfall Co. (Hudson, FL) manufactures Aqua Storm, a system for wet walls or rain curtains in either sheet or stream form. Available in standard or custom configurations with either side or bottom feeds, the nozzles operate at .25-, .50- or 1-gallon-per-minute flow rates with two-inch feeds and come in a selection of standard […]

Organic Emergence

Though his long career, John Cohen has had a knack for finding clients who appreciate his passionate approach to watershaping and, as was true for the project on display here, come to enjoy the unconventional ways in which ideas, themes, echoes and details evolve on site. By John Cohen

This project began with a client’s dropped jaw.

I’d been called to the site by one of my usual subcontractors to help resolve a minor problem he was having.  While that was being resolved, I noticed that the new steps in the remodeled pool were far more troubling.  

With the client and a bunch of other people standing there, I asked for a demo hammer – and saw the looks of astonishment as I smacked the top step and

Indoors Out

When Ian McGregor approaches a backyard project, he does all he can to embrace the entire environment. In doing so for this project, he created connections between existing indoor spaces and new outdoor rooms that echo familiar functions while injecting dashes of fun. By Ian McGregor

The modern concept of “outdoor living” took hold a long time ago – the very first time a homeowner set up a barbecue grill somewhere near the backyard pool, then figured out a way to enjoy a family meal al fresco.

This sort of casual and mostly seasonal approach held on for decades, but approaches to outdoor living took a giant leap forward in the 1990s, when swimming pools started being joined in increasing numbers of backyards by

Edged in Green

A client's request for a turf edge to go along with his perimeter-overflow pool confronted Brian Van Bower with an unusual challenge -- and led to a solution that serves as the crowning touch for a project filled with watershapes from one side of the property to the other. By Brian Van Bower

Of all the design trends that have taken hold in watershaping through the past ten years, the one that leads us to work with plenty of slot-edge, perimeter-overflow systems may well be my favorite.  

I’ve done them partway and all the way around pools and spas; I’ve run them up against all sorts of materials, from poured concrete to incredibly beautiful varieties of stone; and, most of all, I’ve appreciated the skill that goes into installing them and making these water-in-transit