waterfeatures
One of the compliments we appreciate most at Root Design Co. is when people say that no two of our projects look alike. Indeed, we pride ourselves on being able to work effectively across a broad spectrum of styles and use both time-tested and innovative building methods in ways that let us focus on details and on making certain we’re always generating work that speaks directly to our clients’ unique tastes and desires. To maintain our edge, we limit the number of projects we tackle each year and, at the same time, seek out clients whose enthusiasm matches our own when it comes to pursuing
In all of the discussions in print and in seminar rooms about advancing the watershaping trades, it seems to me there's been a missing voice - that of the client. We spend lots of time dissecting, praising, disputing, criticizing and encouraging one another, but somehow we seem to have bypassed the thought that we should pay much closer attention to the people who pay us. To my mind, this is something that should change. As individuals, we really should know what it takes to improve and produce a better buying experience related to watershapes of all types and sizes, commercial and residential. Without this direct feedback from our clients, how on earth can we possibly know whether or not we're truly giving people what they really want? As an industry, unless we figure out some way to pool this feedback and codify it in some meaningful way, we will be
When you ask people about transparent building materials, most people immediately think of glass. Glass is certainly stronger than most people realize, but it has never been an ideal structural material because of its weight, brittleness and structural limitations. With our acrylic products, by contrast, architects and other designers have found a material with which they can create substantial transparent structures that are much lighter and more versatile than those made with glass – and with a structural strength more than double that of concrete. R-Cast acrylic (as we call it) is indeed an amazing material: Its uses span from the obvious pools, fountains or aquariums to awesome signage and seemingly impossible structures and lighting (to mention a few possibilities). Its combination of optical clarity with safety, strength, flexibility and UV resistance has allowed an increasing numbers of designers across a range of disciplines to embrace the material as never before. There are several firms that provide acrylic materials to the construction marketplace, with
As part of my work on movies and television shows through the past dozen years, I've developed a range of special effects that focus specifically on fire. For the science fiction hit Men In Black, for example, I was charged with devising the flame-spewing weapons wielded by Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in a spectacular scene in which they shoot down a flying saucer. That system involved a range of safety issues along with devising a specially formulated fuel (alcohol mixed with various metals) to create blue flames as well as a combination of inert gases and electronic control systems that were used to extinguish the fire and protect the actors. As is the way with so much in Hollywood, an on-screen sequence that lasts just a couple of seconds took my team
The area surrounding Phoenix is graced by the presence of numerous Native American tribes and nations. In fact, Maricopa County hosts one of the largest concentrations of such communities in the United States. As Phoenix and its suburbs have sprawled in recent years, several communities have had to forge constructive relationships with these sovereign nations to make continued growth possible. At first, there was often tension and conflict, but now relative tranquility and cooperation flourish to the point where it's a cultural environment that defines the character and charm of
The area surrounding Phoenix is graced by the presence of numerous Native American tribes and nations. In fact, Maricopa County hosts one of the largest concentrations of such communities in the United States. As Phoenix and its suburbs have sprawled in recent years, several communities have had to forge constructive relationships with these sovereign nations to make continued growth possible. At first, there was often tension and conflict, but now relative tranquility and cooperation flourish to the point where it's a cultural environment that defines the character and charm of
The area surrounding Phoenix is graced by the presence of numerous Native American tribes and nations. In fact, Maricopa County hosts one of the largest concentrations of such communities in the United States. As Phoenix and its suburbs have sprawled in recent years, several communities have had to forge constructive relationships with these sovereign nations to make continued growth possible. At first, there was often tension and conflict, but now relative tranquility and cooperation flourish to the point where it's a cultural environment that defines the character and charm of
The art of watershaping so often is all about the art of finishing. Certainly, every stage of any project is important, but the final steps leading to completion are what make most designs come to life. The project pictured here, which I've covered in five of my "Details" columns during the past couple years, has been an undertaking of extraordinary scale and mammoth complexity. As I mentioned frequently in those columns (November 2003, January and February 2004 and January and February 2005), the lion's share of the project management fell to my east coast partner and dear friend Kevin Fleming, who truly has endured a baptism of Tisherman-style fire as he
The art of watershaping so often is all about the art of finishing. Certainly, every stage of any project is important, but the final steps leading to completion are what make most designs come to life. The project pictured here, which I've covered in five of my "Details" columns during the past couple years, has been an undertaking of extraordinary scale and mammoth complexity. As I mentioned frequently in those columns (November 2003, January and February 2004 and January and February 2005), the lion's share of the project management fell to my east coast partner and dear friend Kevin Fleming, who truly has endured a baptism of Tisherman-style fire as he
As watershape designs become increasingly creative and complex, the demand for more precise methods of engineering their structures has grown as well. To meet that need, observe Ron Lacher and Aaron Cowen of Pool Engineering, experts like them are turning to advanced three-dimensional modeling technology - systems so sophisticated that they make it possible to develop plans for daring projects such as they one they describe here. It's easily the most sophisticated watershape structure we've ever engineered. The pool/spa combination, not yet built, will rise some 50 feet above grade on a cliff behind a home in the densely populated Hollywood Hills near downtown Los Angeles. As conceived, the vanishing-edge pool will sit a full ten feet below the spa in a complex monolithic structure. Supporting the entire affair will be
