waterpark design
Waterplay Solutions (Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada) has introduced Cirque, a collection of splash-pad play features…
When New York's Long Island comes up in conversation, most people think about the Hamptons, exclusive summer resorts, incredible estates and beaches by the mile. But that image has a flip side: For many years, in fact, Wyandanch, a hamlet within the town of Babylon, N.Y., has been a community that has had very little go its way, with poverty-stricken streets, gang activity and not much going on that would make its citizens hopeful about
A small town set in the suburban vastness of southern California, the city of La Mirada seems an unlikely setting for a leading-edge aquatics facility – let alone the grand one that now occupies 19 prominent acres within the city’s sprawling regional park. We were first introduced to the project in September 2005 by the city’s public works director, Steve Forster, who invited us to sit in on a meeting to discuss the city’s ambitions. At this gathering, key city officials let us know that they’d already secured much of the $30 million plus the project would require and expressed their desire to begin moving right away with a very aggressive project schedule. What was needed now, they told us, was a company that had
The idea that someone can enter a man-made body of water and go surfing is both exciting and a bit mind-boggling. Perhaps that's why, as is the case with many a good idea, there's more than one claimant to the distinction of having built the first-ever wave pool. Most people in the know trace the origins of these vessels to the early 1970s, and I know for certain that we at Whitewater West jumped into the game early on: The company became involved in its first wave pool a year after opening its doors in 1982, and to date we've been involved in installing many of the hundreds of systems that now grace aquatic facilities across North America. As waterparks work to distinguish themselves, wave pools have become more elaborate when it comes to both themes and aesthetics. In fact, in the 17 years I've been working on wave or surf pools for the company, I've seen these vessels grow dramatically both in popularity and in the level of the technologies and design details that make them
The idea that someone can enter a man-made body of water and go surfing is both exciting and a bit mind-boggling. Perhaps that's why, as is the case with many a good idea, there's more than one claimant to the distinction of having built the first-ever wave pool. Most people in the know trace the origins of these vessels to the early 1970s, and I know for certain that we at Whitewater West jumped into the game early on: The company became involved in its first wave pool a year after opening its doors in 1982, and to date we've been involved in installing many of the hundreds of systems that now grace aquatic facilities across North America. As waterparks work to distinguish themselves, wave pools have become more elaborate when it comes to both themes and aesthetics. In fact, in the 17 years I've been working on wave or surf pools for the company, I've seen these vessels grow dramatically both in popularity and in the level of the technologies and design details that make them
Waterpark design is typically about delivering the fun, comfort, safety and excitement guests have come to expect from these expansive aquatic playgrounds. Here, veteran theme-park lifeguard Brett Herman offers his deck-level perspective on key factors to be considered in making these environments work not only for the paying public, but also for the young people charged with the practicalities of managing these busy spaces. On any given day in some spot around the globe, a waterpark will add some new feature or other or opens its doors for the very first time, and the design focus is always about developing systems and mechanisms that will lead to a strong popular response and increasing financial success. If there's a fly in the ointment here, it's that these facilities are
Waterpark design is typically about delivering the fun, comfort, safety and excitement guests have come to expect from these expansive aquatic playgrounds. Here, veteran theme-park lifeguard Brett Herman offers his deck-level perspective on key factors to be considered in making these environments work not only for the paying public, but also for the young people charged with the practicalities of managing these busy spaces. On any given day in some spot around the globe, a waterpark will add some new feature or other or opens its doors for the very first time, and the design focus is always about developing systems and mechanisms that will lead to a strong popular response and increasing financial success. If there's a fly in the ointment here, it's that these facilities are
It's striking and even awe-inspiring to observe the ways in which water can shape a desert. Probably the most spectacular example of this phenomenon to be found anywhere on the planet - and unquestionably the most prominent hydrological feature of Arizona's landscape - is the winding course the Colorado River takes through the Grand Canyon it created. The terrain surrounding Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix is another special creation that draws much of its character and interest from the presence of
