WaterShapes Classic
'Through the past few months,' wrote Brian Van Bower in April 2005 to open his Aqua Culture column, 'I've run across several representatives of the pool and spa industry who have expressed concern that some of us in the business of educating watershapers are encouraging landscape architects to move in the direction of the pool industry's traditional market. "I can understand the anxiety. After all, landscape architects are
'With a busy schedule,' wrote Stephanie Rose to open her March 2005 Natural Companions column, 'it's too easy to use the same tools repeatedly in project designs. 'Yes, you can mitigate the repetition to a certain extent by using those tools differently each time, but the fact remains that many of us tend to design over and over again with the same plants, hardscape materials and structural approaches because it's
'For the best part of 20 years now,' wrote Brian Van Bower in starting his Aqua Culture column from March 2010, ' trend watchers have tracked Baby Boomers and have kept telling us that, as we aged, we'd definitely become homebodies - so much so that the words "nesting," "cocooning" and "staycation" have all taken significant
'Watershaping carries us onto the properties and into the private lives of our clients, and it does so to such a personal, even intimate level,' wrote Brian Van Bower to start his February 2010 Aqua Culture column, 'that I see the value and importance of getting to know them to the best of my ability. Invariably, that means asking the right questions and knowing how to
'The Harvard Business Review recently published results of an interesting survey: Overall, they said, some 75 percent of those contacted reported diminishing trust in U.S. business managers and their companies; moreover,' added Brian Van Bower in starting his Aqua Culture column in WaterShapes' January 2010 issue, 'their faith in educational institutions, product suppliers and government is on the decline as well.' 'It all seems gloomy and pessimistic, but I couldn't be
'If you ask a roomful of watershapers about the toughest of the basic business challenges they face,' wrote Brian Van Bower in opening his Aqua Culture column for January 2005, 'there's little doubt in my mind that a large percentage of them would say that finding, hiring and keeping good employees is near the top of the list.' 'Depending upon several factors - the size of your company, its business volume, its focus and how much work you submit to outside contractors - your own approach
In August 1999, more than 30 professionals gathered at a small college in Southeastern Ohio to talk about water and absorb the rudiments of a collective "Philosophy of Design." Organized by The Whispering Crane Institute, the conference was as much about attitude as it was about the practicalities of designing with water. In attendance were Rick Anderson and Richard Dubé of the Whispering Crane Institute and the Genesis 3 team of Skip Phillips, Brian Van Bower and
'If there's ever been such a thing as a match made in heaven, swimming pools and landscape lighting lay a strong claim to that perfection.' That's how Mike Gambino opened his Currents column in November 2009. 'Separately, they take little-used spaces and transform them to all-day hubs of activity and sources of constant beauty. Together, however, the magic
'My daughter and I just returned from our annual trip to visit family in Connecticut and used the occasion this time to travel all over the northeast,' wrote Stephanie Rose in opening her Natural Companions column for November 2004. 'I'm never disappointed by the beauty I find in that part of the country.' 'What I find most beneficial in travel
Global Watershaping