WaterShapes
Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck Swimming Pools a FocusAt Coppola Winery Renowned movie director, producer and screenwriter Francis Ford Coppola is blazing new trails in the winery business by including two swimming pools and other family entertainment features in his
Although we might not commonly think of watershaping and exterior design in this way, a great many of the details we shape are designed to fool the eye or somehow create illusions. Consider the pools that are made to appear so natural that they don’t seem to have been man-made — or vanishing edges that conjure the impression that
Natural stone is a wonderful companion for just about every type of watershape: It lends a timeless, classy look to just about any setting, generating a sense of sturdy permanence as well as close associations with Mother Nature. As watershapers, we also know that natural stone can be extremely expensive and often represents a significant investment on the part of the client. This puts a premium on
If you use the words “ozone” and “environment” in the same sentence, most people are going to think of the ozone layer and emissions that may be harming it. Most do not think of manmade ozone and how this remarkable compound yields
Where was the recent discovery of an ancient swimming pool made and when was the pool built?
For a dozen years, this magazine has celebrated the beauty, majesty and positive potential of water in the landscape. We’ve seen it flowing down waterfalls, over vanishing edges, across slopes and through the air. We’ve seen what happens to colors immersed in it, how it creates shimmering light patterns, how it works its way over stone and, perhaps most important, the joy it can bring. Its potential to entertain and sustain us is indeed vast, but for all of its glories, water can also be inglorious as well – as when rivers overflow their banks, rainfall collapses roofs or tsunamis inundate coastlines. So while we in the watershaping world are justified in revering water, we also
In the 40-plus years I’ve been involved in the pool and spa industry, I’ve had the opportunity to work with a variety of organizations on the local, state and national levels. Every step along the way, I worked closely with people who displayed a variety of leadership styles and have done my best to perform well when I’ve been called on to take those leading roles myself. These experiences leave me convinced that
Last year in our May issue, I put a deliberately upbeat spin on market conditions that had prompted us at WaterShapes to switch temporarily to a bimonthly publishing schedule. The tack I took did not go unnoticed. In the aftermath of our announcement, of course, many of you let us know that you were four-square behind the magazine and offered to pitch in to do whatever you could to help – all of which was and remains most appreciated. But there were others who, in various ways, essentially told me that
As I’ve mentioned before in this space, my education in landscape architecture pulled up lame when it came to instruction in art and art history. That shortfall has bothered me greatly as my career has progressed, but the silver lining is that I’ve been motivated to seek out sources I can use to teach myself what I think I need to know. My latest find in this campaign is a wonderful book designed specifically to prompt personal voyages of exploration: It’s called The Daily Book of Art: 365 Readings That Teach, Inspire and Entertain (Walter Foster Publishing, 2009) and delivers on its title’s promise by
The Importance of Watershaping’s Color Palette