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2019/11.2, November 20 — Island Wisdom, Show-Stopper Spa, Central Park Stunner and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS November 20, 2019 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
A Slice of Paradise
As an engineering-oriented designer/builder, I know that it simplifies a project if I'm working with like-minded clients: They tend to listen well and get a quick grip on crucial details that have an influence on the outcome. They also tend to operate on the conservative side of the construction spectrum, preferring not to take unnecessary risks for themselves or their families, friends and neighbors. In the project discussed here, not only was the client an engineering and general contractor, but he and his wife were successful real estate investors with extensive holdings. As a result, they had the wherewithal, knowledge and desire to have the pool and spa behind their San Diego-area home stay put on the middle of a long
Renovation Time
By Jim McCloskey The weather has taken a turn toward heat in the time since I wrote my last blog:  It's been in the 90s several times recently, and it reminds me of an even hotter stretch early in May 1989, when we moved into our current house and settled in as a family with our first swimming pool. When we arrived with our
#30: Tiled Finger Ledge
Safety is never far from my mind as I design for my clients, but as important as it is, it's seldom the only thing on my mind as a project comes together. In fact, balancing the need for features we must include for safety's sake with our everyday passion about never compromising on aesthetics is something I consider with every detail.  Whether it's the extent to which
2018/5.1, May 2 — Deep-Blue Views, Well-Dressed Ledges, Hearst Pool Revival and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS May 2, 2018 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
2018/4.2, April 18 — Rapid Results, Street-Level Beauty, Fountain Grandeur and more
THE ESSENTIAL E-NEWSLETTER FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS, ENGINEERS AND BUILDERS April 18, 2018 www.watershapes.com FEATURE ARTICLE…
Finding the Look
‘Not long ago, I was asked by a reporter from The New York Times to define the main difference between swimming pools now compared to what they were 20 years ago. As we talked,’ wrote David Tisherman in his Details column for the December 2007 edition of WaterShapes, ‘it became clear that she was mostly thinking about technological breakthroughs in pumps and chemical treatments and the like. ‘I confirmed for her that, yes, those products had come a long way. But I wouldn’t let her stop there, suggesting that there was much more than
Oceanside Glasstile Publishes Catalog
Oceanside Glasstile (Carlsbad, CA) has released its Tile Specification Guide and Design Book – a…
The Unheard Music
The watershape was way off any path I'd ever beaten around New Orleans: It sits north of downtown along the shores of Lake Pontchartrain, and I was genuinely surprised to make its acquaintance. This was back in November 2016, when my wife and I were heading with my brother and his wife to their home in Mississippi after my work at International Pool|Spa|Patio Expo drew to a close. We rolled up West End Boulevard to where it turned into Lakeshore Drive, figuring we'd move along the waterfront until we could conveniently jump over to Interstate 10 and leave the Crescent City behind. But soon after we made the right-hand turn along the water, I spotted a fountain and made us stop: We'd essentially tripped over the Mardi Gras Fountain, which I'd never heard of before, and paused briefly to give it a look. It reminded me immediately of the fountain in the Plaza de España (click here), which I'd seen many times through the years while walking along the Mississippi River toward the convention center. Both installations feature lots of tile plaques, but I found those associated with the Mardi Gras Fountain to be much more interesting because they colorfully memorialize the various carnival krewes that participate in local parades and various other Mardi Gras festivities. I was a big fan of the HBO series Treme and saw a unique part of New Orleans heritage coming to life before my eyes. The fountain itself, however, wasn't all I might have hoped. Yes, the water danced with gusto, with clusters of jets sending water to various heights in a varied array of patterns. But if ever a themed fountain called for music, this one is it: While the jets conjured some of the visual magic of a New Orleans parade, without sound (other than the watery kind) it all fell a bit flat for me. Since returning to California, I've read up on the Mardi Gras Fountain and have come to appreciate its unusual history. First dedicated in 1962, it was designed by Blaine Kern in association with a local architecture firm. Kern was no fountain guy: He was a Mardi Gras float designer who came back from a trip to Europe filled with impressions of great fountains and started a personal crusade to get one built in New Orleans. The original fountain came in with a modest outlay of $42,000, including 70 tiled plaques set like teeth around the basin. The fountain shot water 30 feet into the air, and on warm summer evenings, all lit up, it drew substantial crowds to water shows. But by the 1990s, the watershape had fallen on hard times and was decommissioned. In May 2005, the fountain was treated to a $2.5 million restoration, with new electrical and mechanical systems to go along with new paving and landscaping. Hurricane Katrina massively abused both the fountain and its park just a few months later, and it was 2013 before another hefty infusion of cash brought the space back to life with a new set of upgrades and a bunch of new tile plaques. Knowing what I now know about the fountain and its story, I'm more inclined to be charitable about its musical shortcomings and accept it on its own considerable merits. It has its shortcomings, in other words, but I appreciate it for what it is - a wonderful, personal celebration of New Orleans' Mardi Gras heritage and generations of urban (and urbane) entertainment. Bottom line: The fountain's fine. As for the plaques, they're cool beyond belief. For a video of the fountain after dark, click here.
Laticrete Introduces 257 Titanium Mortar
Laticrete (Bethany, CT) has launched 257 Titanium, a lightweight, one-step, polymer-fortified, thin-set mortar that is…