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Mastering the Long View
This story is an example of what can happen when preparation meets opportunity. It started way back in 2014, when the client first hired me to build an acrylic fountain at an office building she owns in the Los Angeles area. She liked the results and asked me get involved at her residence in Rolling Hills, an upscale enclave on the scenic Palos Verdes peninsula overlooking the ocean, where she had a pool that was experiencing
In Person and Beyond
The Wolfpack recently returned to in-person instruction with a successful essential builder program in September. WU is also continuing its robust online presence with courses that cover technology, design, business and architectural history.
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Installing structural steel in a swimming pool means negotiating a variety of fittings, contours, corners…
The Journey Into Design
The discipline of landscape architecture is based on a single process, says Mike Farley, that can be applied to a variety of design types. Here's how you can pick up this systematic approach without having to go to college.
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Avoiding 'shadowing' in the shotcrete-placement process is crucial to the structural integrity of pool shells, notes Dave Peterson. Here, he shares a detail that dodges the void creation that can lead to structural compromises.
Fluid Engineering Goes Digital
In a ground-breaking presentation, Watershape University's Essential Fluid Engineering Workshop spread out over two intensive days of online instruction -- and it may have been a first-ever event for the industry.
Culture of Conflict
Will a flood of litigation compromise the watershaping industry's reputation and/or success -- and how might 'alternative dispute resolution' fit into the picture? Here's Eric Herman's take on both fronts. 
A Study in Contrasts, Part 1
Most watershape designers and builders I know largely rely on referrals to generate new business. That's certainly been true in my case and I've learned that word of mouth is extremely important, and arguably the best form of marketing. It is unusual, however, to have one referral from a satisfied client turn into two massive projects at the same time. That's exactly what happened, when one of my past clients
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This time, Dave Peterson shares a simple, reliable way to extend stone veneer from the deck surface all the way down into the pool's interior. It's a great way, he suggests, to create a transition from dry to wet surfaces that is durable, graceful -- and visually seamless.
Design and Desire
This project had it all - balance, symmetry, style and luxury on a grand scale, and fantastic clients. More than three years in the making, and recently finished this past spring, the design integrates a number of key principles and modalities with the clients' desires for elegance, all with a European flare. It was the kind of project that makes you love being a watershape designer. I'd worked with the pool contractor, Lee Seelig of Waterscapes Backyard Resorts in Nashville, on several past high-end projects. In this case, he was in the early stages