specialization

Finding Touchstones
‘Many great artists are best known for working in identifiable genres, styles or modes or with specific materials, themes or some other defining detail.  From Picasso’s cubist abstractions to Mozart’s cascading melodies or Rodin’s bronzes to Frank Gehry’s sweeping architectural forms, geniuses of all stripes are in one way or another known for qualities that are
Truth in Budgeting
Putting a residential pool project out for bid can be a perilous undertaking for a property owner – especially when the home in question is new and architects or custom-home builders are involved in the process. Quite often, the architect or home builder will reach out to a local volume builder who, for free, will come in and provide a quote based on
Role Players
For most watershape projects of above-average complexity, the clients - whether they are developers, architects, landscape architects or property owners - must choose how to execute their vision by deciding who they'll bring in to do the actual work with the water. In my 23 years in the watershaping trades (in service and maintenance, as an installer, with an equipment manufacturer and as a consultant), I've observed dramatically varied levels of expertise on the provider side of that equation.  These days, in my work for EDAW, a national landscape architecture firm, I'm now on the specifier side of the equation and, in an interesting reversal, very often find myself explaining to designers in my own company what their options are for getting a watershape designed and built.   In my lengthening career, I've seen the sets of strengths, backgrounds, abilities and limitations each category of service provider brings to the table - and seen clearly that an understanding of how all the pieces fit together is useful for everyone involved,  from the property owner and specifier to the consultants, suppliers, contractors and subcontractors who get the job done.   To build that understanding, let's pull apart the process of setting up a high-end watershape from start to finish and see how various roles intersect and interrelate.  We'll focus on large commercial projects for purposes of illustration, but the fact is that the same principles apply just as well (if less formally) to sophisticated
Teaming with Potential
'The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime.'                                                                                                                             -- Babe Ruth How many watershaping projects are