Design • Engineering • Construction March 2004 Woods Waters · 2017-04-06 · Sculpture and...

Inside: Brian Van Bower on Press Relations

D e s i g n • E n g i n e e r i n g • C o n s t r u c t i o n

Volume 6Number 3March 2004$5.00

PLUS:A sculptor’s exploration

of water in a desert climate

WoodsWaters

An elegant edgefor a splendid setting

An elegant edgefor a splendid setting

AquaticSerenity

A watershape toease patients’ cares

AquaticSerenity

A watershape toease patients’ cares

andWoods

Watersand

Circle 56 on Postage Free Card

4 WATERsHAPES � MARCH 2004

March

Good MedicineBy Derk HebdonEasing patients’ careswith a sinuous watershape

54

An Elegant EdgeBy Peter CattanoA vanishing horizonover woods and water

42

Spirited WatersBy David Curt Morris

Sculpture and symbolismunder desert skies

34

Artistry in a SeashellBy Barbara ZigannA surface material thatputs waste to good use

50

contents

features

WATERsHAPES � MARCH 2004 5

In This Issue

Advertiser Index

Of Interest Index

Of Interest

6

8

60

60

64

10

22

28

70

WATERSHAPES (ISSN 1522-6581) is published monthly by McCloskey Communications, Inc. 6119 Lockhurst Dr.,Woodland Hills, CA 91367. A controlled circulation publication, WaterShapes is distributed without charge to qualifiedsubscribers. Non-qualified subscription rates in the U.S., $30 per year; Canada and Mexico $48 per year; all other coun-tries $64 per year, payable in U.S. funds. Single copies $10 per issue in the U.S. and Canada. All other countries $15per issue. Subscription requests must include name, job title, business location, address information and a signatureand date. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to WaterShapes, P.O. Box 1216, Lowell, MA 01853-9930.Periodicals postage rates paid at Woodland Hills, CA 91365 and additional mailing offices.

Volume 6 • Number 3 • March 2004

StructuresBy Eric Herman

Encouraging thespirit of innovation

Aqua CultureBy Brian Van Bower

An expert’s guide toworking with the press

Natural CompanionsBy Stephanie Rose

Being sensitive tospecial sensitivities

Detail #36By David Tisherman

The zen of cracksand surface preparation

Book NotesBy Mike Farley

Adventures inthe world of work

10

28

columns

departments

22

On the cover:Photo courtesy Paco Pools & Spas, Baldwin, N.Y.

EditorEric Herman — 714.449-1996

Associate EditorMelissa Anderson Burress— 818.715-9776

Contributing EditorsBrian Van Bower David TishermanStephanie Rose Rick Anderson

Art DirectorRick Leddy

Production ManagerRobin Wilzbach — 818.783-3821

Circulation ManagerSimone Sanoian — 818.715-9776

National Sales ManagerCamma Barsily — 310.979-0335

PublisherJames McCloskey — 818.715-9776

Publishing OfficeMcCloskey Communications, Inc.P.O. Box 306Woodland Hills, CA 91365Tel: 818.715-9776 • Fax: 818.715-9059e-mail: [email protected]: www.watershapes.com

© Entire contents copyright 2004. No portion of this publi-cation may be reproduced in any form without written per-mission of the publisher. Views expressed by the bylinedcontributors should not be construed as reflecting the opin-ion of this publication. Publication of product/service infor-mation should not be deemed as a recommendation by thepublisher.

Printed in the U.S.A.

One of the best things about watershaping from my point of view is that it canbe so interesting. I’m fascinated, for example, by what happens when watershapersconnect with clients, discern their wants and needs and then work within the pa-rameters of a setting to pull great projects together.

To me, this is a big part of what the word “creativity” is all about – and we allknow that creativity is fun to watch.

Through the past five years, I’ve observed first hand that the same sort of in-genuity and creative spark are often displayed by people and companies that de-sign and supply products used by the various watershaping trades. With finishmaterials alone, for example, the recent past has seen incredible progress withtile, stone, artificial rock, exposed or polished aggregates and stamped or texturedconcrete (to name just a few).

In other words, it’s abundantly clear that a great many extraordinarily talentedpeople work on both sides of the watershaping business and are involved togeth-er in helping create finished products of great beauty and enduring value.

All this is by way of explaining why we occasionally run feature articles that il-luminate some of the more adventurous examples we find in the realm of productdevelopment and manufacturing. This can be tricky, and we watch carefully tomake certain we don’t lose sight of the boundaries between editorial content andadvertising messages. But the simple fact is that when we spot something unique,we see no reason at all not to invest in some ink and move it into print.

The story beginning on page 50 of this issue is a case in point: In “Artistry in aSeashell” by Barbara Zigann, you’ll read about the evolution of a product calledSeaStone – an innovative,unusual,planet-friendly product borne of a simple needto find a substitute for a popular natural product that is no longer readily available.

Her story is one of aligning a need, some research, a bit of cement and a moun-tain of waste material to create a product that mimics the colors and something ofthe appearance and texture of natural coral. I’ve been around the watershaping in-dustry since the late 1980s, and hers is one of a handful of products I’ve seen thatoffers an elegant, simple and obvious solution to a critical need among designers– especially in Florida,where good-quality natural coral is getting harder and hard-er to obtain.

It’s a neat story, and we think you’ll enjoy it whether you come to use the prod-uct or not, basically because it says a lot about other materials and products youuse and the challenges of keeping you supplied as you encounter a universe of clientswith constantly shifting wants and desires.

To be sure, this is an unusual story for WaterShapes and it’s not something you’llsee in every issue or more than once or twice a year. For us, it’s all about highlightingan extension of the spirit of innovation and creativity we see every day in the workof the watershapers who fill the rest of our pages: We will continue to call atten-tion to and encourage these tendencies whenever we can.

WATERsHAPES �MARCH 20046

By Eric Herman

structures

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WATERsHAPES � MARCH 200488

David Curt Morris is a sculptor based in NewYork. He earned his masters degree in architecturefrom the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in1972 and was a fellow at the Center for AdvancedVisual Studies at MIT from 1972 to 1973. His ar-chitecture and design résumé includes work withLawrence Halprin Landscape Architects, MarcelBreuer Architects and Skidmore,Owings & Merrill,among others.He has taught in the School ofVisualArts at New York University in the University ofIllinois’Department ofArt and Architecture. Morris’sculpting career encompasses a variety of signifi-cant commissions as well as exhibitions stagedthroughout the United States. His current works indevelopment include variations on the Rainmakerconcept (seen in his article in this issue) that can berun in line with swimming pool equipment.

Peter Cattano is president and owner of PacoPools & Spas,a design, installation and service firmfor residential and commercial watershapes inBaldwin, N.Y. His career in the swimming poolindustry spans 50 years,beginning with work as astudent for various contractors associated with hisfather, Peter Cattano Sr., who invented and man-ufactured Hi Perm swimming pool filters. Cattanoopened Paco Pools & Spas in 1980 following hisfather’s death. Active in the industry through theyears, he has been president of the Long IslandChapter of the National Spa & Pool Institute andis a past president of NSPI Region I. A graduateof the Genesis 3 Design Schools,he credits Genesis3 co-founder Skip Phillips as his mentor in theconstruction of vanishing-edge pools – includingthe one featured in his article in this issue.

March’s Writers


in this issue

Barbara Zigann is president and founderof The SeaStone Group of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.,a manufacturer of hardscape finish products. Acareer designer and visual artist, Zigann’s award-winning artwork has been featured in severalgalleries and recognized by local and nationalpublications. She applied her background to anongoing career in swimming pool and landscapedesign that led in 1998 to the founding of hercurrent company out of what she saw as a needfor a greater range of design options for hardsurfaces. The firm’s products are now distrib-uted worldwide.

Derk Hebdon is owner and president of SaltLake City-based Bratt Water Features, a spin-offof Bratt, Inc., Utah’s largest landscape design

and construction firm. A 1991 graduate ofArizona State University, Hebdon started in thelandscaping design/construction trades in 1992,when he purchased a landscape maintenanceand construction firm in Tampa, Fla. In 1995,he moved into the design and construction ofponds and streams – which quickly became aprimary focus for the company. He sold thatbusiness in 1999 before moving to Utah to be-come manager for Bratt’s waterfeatures division.That business unit was spun off in April 2003and now focuses on designing quality water-features for residential and commercial clients.Hebdon is a certified landscape professional(CLP) through the Associated LandscapeContractors of America.


Interested in writing for WaterShapes on design, engineering or construction topics? Contact Eric Herman at (714) 449-1996!


ZIGANN

HEBDON


any have asked me how it is that my work is published so often. I’mnot talking about this column, which is about what I do and occa-

sionally depicts my work to illustrate a point I’m making about what we doas watershapers. Rather, the question’s about my projects making their waysinto books and consumer magazines and other media beyond WaterShapes.

The short answer is that I focus on garnering this sort of exposure and haveactively cultivated it through the years. As is the case with anything else youdo to draw positive attention to your business, seeking to have your work pub-lished in a book or magazine takes time and effort and an understanding ofwhat working with writers and editors is all about.

The benefits of figuring this out and gaining high-profile exposure amongan interested audience can be wonderful.

making contactExceptional projects for outstanding clients don’t fall off trees: You need to

reach these people somehow and make your presence known.There are numbers of ways of achieving this contact, and I’d argue that pos-

itive press is far and away the best vehicle for doing so. You might accomplish

as much by placing ads in newspapers or mag-azines,but I’ve always felt that the person seeingthe ad recognizes that you’ve purchased the spacefor self-promotion. By contrast, editorial expo-sure in the same newspaper or magazine is inmany ways the equivalent of third-party en-dorsement of the work you do.

When prospective clients see your work in aconsumer publication, they’ll interpret the ap-pearance as validation of your professionalismand may be more inclined to seek you out.(The same is also true for a professional audi-ence with exposure in trade magazines, butthat’s not my focus here.) Consumers will pre-sume that the editors of their favorite house-and-garden/shelter magazines or newspapersupplements have published your work be-cause of its merit and your abilities and notnecessarily because you are seeking new clients.It’s a wholly different twist on how and whypeople contact you.

And consider what happens if you gain cov-erage in multiple publications: This results inclients’ telling you that they’ve seen your work“all over the place” – and that they’ve contact-ed you because you seem to be “hot.” It doesn’ttake too many of these conversations to thinkthat time spent on the press-relations front canyield big dividends in terms of building a rep-utation and gathering leads.

Remember that consumer magazines are ex-traordinarily powerful when it comes to guid-ing readers’ tastes and desires. Right or wrong,people make a natural assumption that,becauseyou’re in the consumer media, your work hasmerit and you have credibility.

But getting your work published is no slamdunk. Magazine, newspaper and book editorskeep their jobs because they perform well in se-lecting designers and projects that appeal to theirreaders. This means that your work needs to fita context and make sense for the publication.

By Brian Van Bower

aqua culture

Securing good press is a matter of designing and/or

building quality, exciting projects on the one handand, on the other, of fairly

evaluating your own work.

Powering the Press

M

Continued on page 12

In other words, securing good press isa matter of designing and/or buildingquality, exciting projects on the one handand,on the other,of fairly evaluating yourown work, seeking evaluations from oth-ers – either fellow professionals or, in somecases, savvy clients, and studying what’salready being published to see how wellyour work stacks up.

be honest!However you do it, this self-assessment

process needs to be fair. You have to askyourself, “Am I good enough? Is mywork worthy of being out there for oth-er people to see? Will it stand up to thescrutiny?”

This process of setting your work downnext to other projects that have found


their way into print and judging your owncreations with fresh and relatively objec-tive eyes can be difficult. It takes courageand can be scary, and if you put yourselfthrough this sort of self-evaluative exer-cise and can’t honestly say that your workcompares favorably to what you see inprint, then my advice is to wait until youhave better stuff to show.

Consider: If you try to promotemediocre work as having real quality,you’re likely to find more frustration thansuccess in approaching editors and shouldhold off until you’re ready.

If you have work that fits,however, thekey to making inroads with editors is be-ing able to speak their language and makeyourself heard. This entails expressingwhat you know about design and con-struction and doing so with an authori-ty that engages the editor and positionsyou to talk with a writer and, eventually,with readers.

That means explaining the situationyou faced for the project,your vision,andhow you executed that vision – all in waysthat are appropriate for the audience athand. Having good pictures is nice, butto make things happen in print,you mustbe able to share meaningful and relative-ly detailed information. You must be anauthority for anyone to bother readingwhat you have to say.

I’ve learned through the years thatthere’s a big distinction between com-municating with professionals throughtrade journals and with consumersthrough newspapers, magazines andbooks. In the trades, the informationtends to the practical, technical and pro-


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cedural. With consumer publications,bycontrast, the information tends towardthe creative vision and how it is exercised.The latter sort of communication gener-ally means throwing more of your per-sonality into the process.

Some designers and builders aren’tcomfortable with “revealing”themselvesin this way, but consumers tend to bemore interested in making personal con-nections rather than professional ones.

image consciousAs I suggested above, having good im-

ages of your work is one of the keys toreaching the editors who decide whosework makes it into print.

With some of the larger publications,they’ll want to send their own photogra-phers out to get exactly the shots they want,but the fact of the matter is that you usu-ally need to generate good photographyon your own just to get a foot in the door.

The first thing you have to decide hereis whether you’re going to hire a profes-sional photographer or take the picturesyourself. Obviously, hiring a profession-al is an investment – sometimes a signif-icant one. But unless you know your wayaround a camera, have a decent eye andpossess some understanding of light, an-gles,depth of field and the characteristicsof film, filters and exposures, the imagesyou take will not be as attractive or well-composed as those taken by a pro.

Through the years, I’ve judged a fairnumber of design-awards competitions,and I’ve often been startled by what




aqua culture

Regardless of howbeautiful a design andproject may be, if you

don’t have quality images to demonstrate

that splendor, it’s notlikely your work will be

considered seriouslyfor publication.

people submit. Believe me, regardlessof how beautiful a design and project maybe, if you don’t have quality images todemonstrate that splendor, it’s not likelyyour work will be considered seriously forpublication.

Just as you need to speak a language ed-itors appreciate, you must also commu-nicate in visual terms they accept. This is

why,personally, I call in professional pho-tographers to record my projects to sup-plement my own picture taking. I have apretty good eye and know how to use mycamera, but I’m no expert.

By the same token,I’ve learned a lot fromwatching professional photographers shootmy work and how they approach the spacesI’ve called them in to record for me.

With watershapes, for example, the wa-ter is so compelling that it’s easy (espe-cially as a watershaper) to fall into the vi-sual trap of just shooting the water andnot the overall environment. My obser-vation of professionals has taught me tostep back and take in the whole setting.

In fact, for a great many of the shots Inow take, the water is not the focal pointso much as it is a complement to andcomponent of the entire space. I alsomake a point of taking a greater numberof photographs from a larger number ofangles – not just from different vantagepoints around the space but also fromhigh and low angles as well as at eye lev-el – to capture visual relationships andmore of the “feeling”of the space.

In addition to these wide shots, I’vealso learned a very important lesson:Professional photographers and editorslove shots of details – little spaces whereshadows or colors or intersections of ma-terials are compelling or beautiful or weremanifestly difficult to execute. I now takelots of these shots myself, something Irarely did before.

neat and cleanWhen you take your own photographs,

observe a cardinal rule of good photog-raphy and “clean up”the shot.

I’m stunned when I see beauty shots ofpools, spas and other watershapes inwhich the image is marred, often comi-cally,by the presence of hoses,pool clean-ers, garbage, dead leaves and other plantdebris, children’s toys, flotation devicesand any number of other distractions.

Not only should your images be un-cluttered by such things, but you shouldalso think in terms of enhancing the im-age by adding small touches, such as flow-ers on tables, place-settings on patio fur-niture or extra plants in strategic places(to camouflage unsightly spots).

One of the most important tricks of thephotographic trade I’ve learned throughthe years is that timing is critical. This ispartly a matter of observing the space atvarious times during the day and takingphotographs when the light’s at its best,but it’s also about being patient and wait-ing for the right weather – or maybe eventhe right season or time of year – to makethe most of the setting’s possibilities.



aqua culture


If you work with a professional, they’lltake care of lots of this for you, but thatdoesn’t mean you just sign them up andwalk away. You need to communicatewith the photographer about the best an-gles and most significant details becauseyou’re the one who’s studied the magazineto which you’ll be sending the photos.

Even though a professional knows howto capture quality images, he or she maynot immediately “see”the project the wayyou’d like. I always consider photogra-phers to be similar to anyone else who’sseeing the work for the first time,and I al-ways make a point of discussing what I’dlike them to shoot. They may go beyondmy requests and catch something spec-tacular and unanticipated,but in any eventI get the shots I think I’ll be needing.

Finally, there is the question of takingconstruction photos. For consumer mag-azines,“in-process” shots are seldom ofinterest, but trade publications (includ-ing WaterShapes) may well have a needfor such shots. Because I work with pub-lishers on both sides, I take pictures steadi-ly and usually take “master shots” fromone particular angle to record progressand the transformation of the space.

For the most part, however, these con-struction shots and photos of things likeequipment sets aren’t for publication.Rather, I use them as tools to documenthow things should be done for the bene-fit of subcontractors or staff charged withdoing similar work on other projects – orto show prospective clients what’s involvedwith the construction process.

working itAll of this background work and prepa-

ration is part of the process of getting yourfoot in the door with an editor,but there’sa lot more to finding your way into printthan being ready to have someone take alook. As I mentioned at the outset,work-ing with the media takes time, and youneed to be persistent and patient as youdemonstrate the value of your work toeditors and, as important, get to knowthem and what they want and develop arapport with them.

That said, there are some strategies youcan use to get your foot in the door.

w There’s always the cold call with an


aqua culture



unsolicited submission. This involvesfinding out the name or names of edi-torial staff members and contacting themwith your ideas.

If you’re lucky, this may be all it takes –but be sure if you go this route that youhave good images together and that youhave an “angle”in mind having to do withsomething particularly interesting ortrendy about the project. Obviously, ed-itors and writers have their own ideasabout what works for their publications,but when you come to the process withan idea in mind (and thereby do some oftheir work for them), you’re that muchahead of the game.

In this case, it really pays to be familiarwith the publication. If you see a fit inyour work, play up an angle they com-monly take and you’re likelier to make agood impression. It doesn’t hurt to havesomething written down to go with theimages – either an article draft (if you feelconfident in your writing abilities) or apromotional description of a project.

w It’s also possible to use indirect ap-proaches. Oftentimes, for example, amanufacturer will seek press coverage di-rectly or retains a public relations firm tospread the good word. If you have a pro-ject that demonstrates a particularly ex-emplary or creative use of such a manu-

facturer’s product, you can submit yourimages and ideas to that vendor with thesuggestion that they pick up the ball andrun with it.

At first, this may only result in an im-age or two winding up in an article or abrochure,but it’s a start. And once you’rein print somewhere, you can use that ex-posure to interest other media outlets –sort of like building a referral network.

w One of the most common paths togood press is submitting your work to lo-cal or national design-award competi-tions. I have my quibbles with the dig-nity of the most accessible of thesecompetitions,but when it comes to seek-ing the attention of editors, there’s littledoubt that people in the media will, onoccasion, look to design-award winnersin winnowing through possible resources.

w Perhaps the best strategy is to be anactive participant in the industry, eitherby working with a trade association, var-ious charities, educational programs or atrade show. Involvement in these pro-grams is particularly effective in reachingthe trade press, but it can lead to con-sumer outlets because newspapers andmagazines and book editors often calltrade editors to get names.

This activity may not result in immedi-

19WATERsHAPES � MARCH 2004Circle 107 on Postage Free Card

digital drama

When you take pictures for publication, it’s important to understand the requirementsthe publications have for images. Slides and prints are tried and true – and much ap-preciated these days by editors and art directors who’ve had their problems with digitalimages.

I’ve spoken with lots of editors, including WaterShapes’ own Eric Herman, who areperturbed by the explosion in use of digital cameras: They’ve proved to be wonderfulwith respect to convenience, but not enough watershapers recognize that the imagesmust be shot at a reasonable size and resolution to be publishable.

Eric tells me he’s had way too many articles fall through when CDs have arrivedwith hundreds of gorgeous images that are about the size of a thumbnail when viewedat the 300 dpi standard required for printing. Not all digital cameras are made equal:If you use one, shoot at the highest possible resolution – and if your camera isn’t able toshoot 5-by-7s or 8-by-10s at 300 dpi, think about getting one that can!

Whatever approach you use, remember that the proof is in the images: In contact-ing editors, it’s always a good idea to have an assortment of photos at the ready – whetheron your web site or in a portfolio of some kind – because, ultimately, it’s the work thatsells the story.

– B.V.B.

ate publication, but it puts you at the topof editors’minds when they’re developingcontent for future issues or have questionsabout particular stories. If you make your-self a ready resource for editorial peoplewhen such questions arise, it’s far likelierthat they will at some point reward that in-volvement with exposure in their publi-cations in one form or another.

communication keysIn my career,I’ve found that working with

editors and writers is not difficult so long asyou understand their needs. These peoplework at collecting and processing contentfor their publications,and they’re always onthe lookout for interesting material. Whenyou put your work in front of them – bywhatever means – you increase the chance

that they’ll turn to you for ideas and images.As a rule,professionals in the commu-

nications business – magazine and news-paper editors and writers as well as theeditors who put together coffee-tablebooks – have curious minds and enjoydiscussing things that interest them.Again, the ability to discuss what you doas a watershaper in direct and intelligentways increases their comfort with you andthe work you offer. It’s all about simpli-fying the process of selecting whose workthey publish, smoothing the path andmaking their lives a bit easier.

Just remember that editors and writ-ers are always living and dying with theirnext deadline and aren’t as focused onyou as you might want them to be. Infact, a conversation you had weeks ormonths ago may have fallen off theircharts, which is why I never hesitate torenew contact by phone or e-mail and letthem know I’m still available, interest-ed and amazingly interesting.

I’ve always enjoyed my work with thepress,and there’s no doubt that the expo-sure I’ve received over the years has helpedto fuel my business and reputation. It’stremendously satisfying to receive feed-back from people who’ve read articles orcolumns I’ve written or that have beenwritten about me, and the circle of thesecontacts just seems to keep on growing.

One last observation: You might de-sign and/or build the most beautifulwatershapes and spaces in the world,but if no one knows about them otherthan your clients, you’re selling your-self and your work short. Obtaininggood pictures and getting to knowpeople in the press is never a bad idea.Although you can never tell exactly howyour work will be received, you’ll nev-er know until you try!



Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultantsand is a partner in Van Bower & Wiren, apool-construction firm in Miami. He is also aco-founder of Genesis 3, A Design Group;dedicated to top-of-the-line performance inaquatic design and construction, this orga-nization conducts schools for like-mindedpool designers and builders. He can bereached at [email protected].

WS

aqua culture


found a new “favorite”plant last summer. It’s called Dalechampia dioscore-folia, otherwise known as the Costa Rican Butterfly Vine. Its stunningly

beautiful, exotic flowers were unlike those on any of the vines I typically seeat nurseries and easily earned a place in my disorganized (and experimen-tal) backyard garden.

Given its unique beauty, I placed it on a trellis directly outside my bedroomwindow so I could see it every day and observe its progress. After a few monthsof growth, it was still quite floppy and had not wrapped itself around placeshigh enough on the trellis for my liking.

So one Saturday, I went out and wrestled apart many of the branches of thevine that had wrapped around themselves and set them up to reach over thetrellis. After about half an hour’s worth of untangling, I had a sense that theplant was quite literally moving in the right direction.

I also noticed that my arms were a bit itchy.

a little surpriseI went inside to wash up to my elbows with soap, believing it would take

care of any skin irritation.By the next morning, however, I was laughing at myself for having been

so clueless. Both my arms and my midriff (the part that wasn’t completelycovered by my T-shirt) were covered in a rash that looked something like

poison oak. Two doctor friends both lookedat the rash and, after exclaiming “eeww” andmaking faces you don’t want to see doctorsmake, concluded knowingly that the plant Ihad grappled with must have possessed someirritating properties.

I immediately went to my garden guide tolook up the vine and see if I had missed some-thing in its description. Interestingly, there wasabsolutely no mention of any toxicity or po-tential irritation. Not being satisfied, I took thefurther step of looking up the plant’s familyname: Euphorbiaceae. I’m reasonably famil-iar with Euphorbias, so I was a bit surprised tosee that the sap is irritating or poisonous inmany species – including,apparently, that of theCosta Rican Butterfly Vine.

I was quick to point out the properties of thisplant to the nursery that sold it to me, suggest-ing that other clients might want to know thatthe vine has skin-irritating sap. Certainly I did-n’t want anyone else to go through what I wasgoing through already.

I don’t want to over-dramatize the situation.The irritation wasn’t horrible, and I was able tocontrol the itching with homeopathic productsthat helped me through the three weeks I hadthe rash with minimal discomfort – other thanthe occasional embarrassment of having whatlooked like the plague all over my arms.

Nonetheless, my brush with this plant’s tox-ins reminded me of a lesson I ought to havelearned long ago. True, we can’t do enoughhomework and research to prevent every suchsituation from arising, but there definitely aresome steps we can all take to be sure our clientsare protected from hazardous plants.

For starters, it’s always important to researcha new plant in garden guides. In the popularSunset Western Garden Book, for example, the

By Stephanie Rose

natural companions

We can’t do enough homeworkand research to prevent every

such situation from arising, but there definitely are some

steps we can all take to be sure our clients are protected

from hazardous plants.

A New Sensitivity

I

legend that accompanies each plant de-scription raises a warning for plantsknown to be poisonous or irritating. Butno such guide is foolproof, becausepeople react differently to different sub-stances they encounter in their environ-ments. That’s why it’s good practice toask clients about allergies or sensitivitiesas you begin creating a planting plan.

common senseI’m not suggesting that you mount a

major research effort every time you se-lect plants. But if you’re in a situationwhere you know your client has sensitiv-ities to pollen or a general problem withallergies, there are a couple of simplethings you can do to be on the safe side.

First, don’t be satisfied (as I was in the

case of my vine) with information froma single source. If you’ve relied on a gar-den guide, for instance, it’s a good idea toverify that information with staff at yourlocal nursery or garden center or track in-formation down via the Internet. Anddon’t be entirely satisfied if you don’t finda specific warning: Look up the familyname of the plant and check the wholelot of them out for potential toxicity.

You’re not always going to be able toprevent problems with every, single plant(again, different people are sensitive todifferent things), but the more researchyou do, the better are your chances ofavoiding the nastier consequences ofmaking a mistake.

And this isn’t just about homeownerswith allergies: I now make it a habit to in-clude children and any household pets inmy design and decision-making processesand use special care in steering clear of po-tentially toxic plants. Better to err on theside of caution when it’s not your own yard!

Trouble is that irritating, toxic or po-tentially toxic plants are all around us.The list below is hardly exhaustive, but itis impressive both in length and in the fa-miliarity of many of the plants – and forthe fact that it’s just about southernCalifornia. I can only imagine that a na-tional guidebook on this topic would runon for many hundreds of pages!

� Aconitum (Monkshood). This un-usual and beautiful perennial is quite poi-sonous if ingested. Use it only in gardenswhere there is absolutely no chance ofchildren or pets chomping on its flowersor leaves.

�Alocasia and Colocasia (Elephant’sEar/Taro). All parts of these plants canbe poisonous if ingested,and exposure tothe sap can cause skin irritation. Plantthis in the background, where it will notbe easily brushed – or eaten by a pet.

� Anemone. All parts of this shade-loving (and therefore extremely useful)perennial are poisonous if ingested.

�Brugmansia (Angel’s Trumpet). Allparts are poisonous if ingested, and I’vebeen told that its effects are hallucinogenic– something of which I have no firsthandknowledge! I use this plant frequently toexploit its large, trumpet-shaped flowers.When I do, I always inform my clients ofits toxic properties as a precaution.



natural companions


� Brunfelsia (Yesterday, Today andTomorrow). All parts of this shrub arepoisonous if ingested. This is anotherplant I use frequently, in this case to takeadvantage of its fragrance and flowers andthe fact that it thrives in partial shade.

� Cestrum. This shrub’s fruit and sapare both poisonous if ingested – andtough to avoid because they’re so widelyused. Night Blooming Jasmine, for ex-ample, is part of this genus.

� Daphne. All parts of this plant arepoisonous if ingested – especially thefruits. The most commonly used varietyof this shrub in my area is Daphne odo-ra, prized and widely used because of itsfragrance and adaptability.

� Digitalis (Foxglove). All parts arepoisonous if ingested. The powerful heartdrug digitalis is derived from this plant,which says it all. I use this in many de-signs, and I always mention this plant’sname to clients and wait for recognition.Whether they’re aware of its specific prop-erties or not, I always voice the caution.

� Erythrina (Coral Tree). The seedsof this majestic tree are poisonous if in-gested. Trouble is, the deep coral-coloredseed pods are so vibrant that they attractlots of attention – a particular problemwith small children. When I use them, Iam liberal with warnings.

� Euphorbias. As I’ve just discoveredfor myself, the sap of these plants is irri-tating or poisonous in many species.Unfortunately, it’s a huge genus (includ-ing such well-known shrubs as Poinset-tias) and is therefore hard to avoid.Special care should be used in moving orhandling them.

�Gelsemium sempervirens (CarolinaJessamine). All parts of this vine,popularfor its vigor and bright yellow flowers, arepoisonous if ingested. This is another plantto keep away from children and pets.

� Heliotropium arborescens (Helio -trope). All parts of this perennial are poi-sonous if ingested. I like to use this plant,which grows to about two feet tall andworks well in the middle of borders, and

love its deep-purple flower clusters. Sofar, I haven’t run into problems in usingit, but I’m always watching.

� Helleborus. All parts of this shade-loving perennial will prove poisonousif ingested.

�Nerium oleander (Oleander). All partsof this widely used plant are poisonous if in-gested,which seems to be something a lotof my clients know without my having totell them. Deer are wise to its toxicity as well,making it an effective barrier plant. The onepoint I make with clients is not to use thewood as barbecue kindling: When olean-der burns, it gives off toxic fumes.

�Nicotiana. All parts of this plant,soldin southern California as an annual,are ex-tremely poisonous if ingested. Manypeople prize it for its hardiness, but I tendto avoid it because of the “extreme”cautionand because there are so many other op-tions when it comes to plants for borders.

�Rhododendron (includes Azaleas).The leaves of these plants – staples of theAmerican garden – are toxic if ingested.



natural companions

It’s the hardiest shade shrub I use, and Iwill continue to do so because I’ve neverheard of any incidents or problems hav-ing to do with toxicity.

�Schinus molle (California Pepper).Direct contact with the foliage can causedermatitis,but it’s not much of a threat inthat respect (at least by comparison toperennials and shrubs) because the leavesare typically out of reach of the averagegarden visitor.

� Solanum (includes Potato Vines).Most of these plants – which in my bookget too woody to be useful – are poisonouswhen ingested. Frankly, I wasn’t aware ofthis toxicity until recently,and I’m happyto have yet another reason not to use them.

� Spartium junceum (SpanishBroom). All parts of this rangy shrub arepoisonous if ingested. Its intensely fra-grant yellow flowers make it useful (withthe appropriate caveats, of course).

points of careAll of these plants (even the ones I per-

sonally don’t like) are too useful in gar-dens to be dismissed out of hand. It’s sim-ply a matter of deciding on appropriateuses in given settings and of warning yourclients about potential hazards.

In my conversations on the subject, Ipoint out that heat may increase the irri-tation caused by some of these plants. Ialso suggest,when clients want the plantsdespite my warnings, that they invest ingood leather or goatskin gloves and wearlong sleeves and long pants while work-ing near or with these plants.

I further advise care in using theseplants as a source for cut flowers. Visitorsmay want to touch a beautiful arrange-ment without being aware of the natureof the plants in the vase. Remember:Mother Nature created these stunningflowers and unusual plants to attract –and that includes us!

With watershapes in particular, I spreadcaution with great care: Placing any po-tentially toxic plants near a pond orstream will endanger wildlife both in and

around the watershape, possibly poison-ing fish and any water-loving creature thatmight eat them. Even the water itselfmight become poisonous.

As is the case with a range of other de-sign considerations, I work with myclients, listen to their requests and givethem appropriate feedback, includingwarnings where they are warranted. Asmentioned above, I prefer to be overlycautious by way of protecting myself andmy business by disclosing any hazards aplant may present.


WATERsHAPES �MARCH 2004 27

Stephanie Rose runs Stephanie RoseLandscape Design in Encino, Calif. A specialistin residential garden design, her projects of-ten include collaboration with custom poolbuilders. If you have a specific question aboutlandscaping (or simply want to exchangeideas), e-mail her at [email protected] also can be seen in episodes of “TheSurprise Gardener,” airing Tuesday eveningson HGTV.

WS

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n renovation projects, preparation of the pool’s interior surface for a newfinish is truly where the rubber meets the road – a key step in which what

you’ve planned and what you actually do must come together.With this installment of “Details,” we’re doubling back to the Los Angeles

project we left behind in October as we waited for tile to arrive from Italy. Ifyou’ll recall, the pool had been built in the 1920s and graces a property witha magnificent Gatsby-era home.

As I mentioned at the outset of this interrupted sequence of columns, thehomeowners have been extremely involved,always wanting to know as muchas they possibly can about what’s going on in their backyard. As I mentionedas well, the challenge with renovations – especially one as involved as thison so old a pool – is that you can never predict with any sense of certaintywhat you’re going to find once the work gets started.

And the unexpected is what we found, over and over again.

stripped downTo recap quickly, I became involved with this project sometime after the

owners had installed a beautiful limestone deck. That was our first prob-lem, as the need to work around the decking increased the difficulty (and

28 WATERsHAPES �MARCH 2004

the uncertainty) of our renovation work manytimes over.

This led to the decision that all of our renova-tion work had to be achieved through sub-gradepenetrations of the old shell as we added a roundspa and accommodated new plumbing, lightingand control lines with three key additions: a large“step”that runs the length of the pool, a new setof shallow-end steps and a new, raised floor inthe deep end of what was a very deep pool.

This approach emerged through careful plan-ning, close contact with the clients and conver-sations with key subcontractors. Big variablesremained, however, many of them having to dowith the interior surface and basic structure ofwhat was,after all, a grand septuagenarian swim-ming pool, and still others having to do with thesoil, drainage and everything else that was goingon around the pool beneath the untouchablelimestone decking.

In tackling a delicate renovation project suchas this one, you always inspect the site in everyway you can, but there will invariably be thingsgoing on that you cannot see. For example, weknew the pool had been plastered once in its his-tory, but we were not aware of whether or not ithad been resurfaced – either how many times orin what manner, shape or form.

This is why, with every remodel I do, I explainto homeowners that without the benefit of X-rayvision, there are aspects of the work that can-not be estimated ahead of time. This is also whyI give a fixed price only on parts of the project ofwhich I’m certain. For the rest – such as anythinghaving to do with the condition of the shell be-neath the plaster – everything is set up on a time-and-materials basis. Based on what I’ve seen hap-pen time and again, a “firm estimate” on a

By David Tisherman

tisherman: detail 35

With every remodel I do, I explain to homeowners thatwithout the benefit of X-ray

vision, there are aspects of thework that cannot be estimated

ahead of time. This is why I givea fixed price only on parts of the

project of which I’m certain.

Smoothing the Way

I

complex remodel is the easy way to en-sure lawsuits, furious clients and a costly,miserable watershaping experience.

In this case, the first step in clearingaway variables involved stripping thepool. I entrusted this job to my friendsat Marquez Pool Plastering, whostripped the tile from the existing gut-ter that surrounded the pool (taking

great pains not to chip the cantileveredlimestone decking) and then beganstripping the plaster.

As they chipped away, we discoveredthat the pool had indeed been resurfacedat some point with a second layer ofplaster atop the original finish. Theyended up stripping it twice, working un-til we were satisfied that every square

inch of the pool’s interior was hard, im-movable material.

what we foundThe stripping process was no big deal

and went smoothly. Once it was com-plete,we were ready to inspect the shell –both to assess its condition and to deter-mine whether the renovation we’d beenplanning was even possible.

Soon we found what could have proveda major problem: Running perpendicu-lar to the long walls of the pool, side toside in almost a straight line and – omi-nously – tracing the elevation break be-tween the shallow and deep ends, was avisible, hairline crack.

In my experience, cracks such as thesecan spell big trouble having to do with ex-pansive soil, differential settlement, in-adequate engineering,poor constructionpractice and a wide range of other possi-ble issues. Time and time again, whenyou see this sort of creeping structuralfailure, it emerges first in the area tra-versing from shallow to deep.

We opened the crack with a small V-cut for a closer inspection and, sureenough, we saw that some of the steel inthe shell had oxidized – although not towhat seemed a serious extent. At thispoint, I called in my structural engineer,Mark Smith, whose name has come upin my columns on several past occasions.When it comes to offering opinions andmaking recommendations,he’s quite con-servative, highly conscientious – and in-variably correct.

We spent a tremendous amount oftime on site talking about what we saw,inspecting the shell over and over againand looking for clues both inside and out-side the pool. Ultimately, however, theevolution of the crack remained a mys-tery, even to Mark’s trained eye.

We sat down and chalked up a num-ber of mitigating factors. For one, thecrack only ran across the floor and not upthe walls of the pool. (We knew that mostpools failing from differential settlementwill show damage on both the horizon-tal and vertical surfaces.) For another,steel oxidation was minimal. And in look-ing at the concrete itself and at what welearned in core-drilling it to accommo-date the plumbing runs, we guessed that




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the poured concrete’s strength was be-tween 5,000 and 6,000 psi – amazinglystrong given today’s standards.

Furthermore, the pool had plenty ofhistory. It had been poured in place, notshot; it was surrounded by reliable re-taining walls; and there was the obviousfact that it had stood reliably in place fornearly eight decades, a time frame inwhich southern California has seen anumber of major earthquakes.

After lots of discussion, we decided tomove forward and cut a large V-notchinto the concrete and steel and fill the voidwith a non-shrink grout. This was alldone, start to finish, with the homeown-ers’ understanding and approval.

locked in placeThe concrete was so hard that we need-

ed a jackhammer to open up the inch-and-a-half-deep cut along the crack,which we cleaned up with a chippinghammer. We then applied the non-shrinkgrout before covering the entire crack withan elastic membrane ordinarily used towaterproof roofs and walls.

We then roughed the shell in anticipa-tion of applying three coats of Thorosealto the entire interior surface. As is myusual practice, we alternated gray andwhite versions of the product, partly tomake it easy to be certain we had com-plete coverage, but also because the twovarieties have different characteristics thatmakes using white over gray advanta-geous. Finally, we floated the pool tosmooth out the interior contours in an-ticipation of tile application.

Throughout these preparatory stages,we were mindful of the fact that we wereworking with old concrete and new gu-nite. Surface preparation in the form ofsealing and floating is intended,of course,to create a uniform surface, but we hadtwo different substrates and the possibil-ity of relative expansion and contractionto consider.

The key to handling surface issues suchas these,where new gunite meets existingmaterial, is making certain the new sec-tions are installed using proper support-ing reinforcement,have been doweled se-curely into the existing structure and areadded with quality construction tech-niques. Otherwise, the result is often

cracking and structural failure.In any sort of construction, in fact,

whether new or remodeling, I always putsteel in steps and benches and consider itcomplete folly to do otherwise. I do sobecause it’s what structural engineers callfor; in renovations in particular, I do itbecause the steel, with its ability to han-dle tension, will give strength to the newparts of the shell and will resist damagefrom expansion and contraction of theconcrete.

My strong advice: Unless you are qual-ified to do so, it’s never a good idea to actas your own structural engineer. Whetheryou’ve been a watershaper for 30 days or30 years, your role is that of a contractoror subcontractor, and your best practiceis to follow details given to you by a cer-tified expert.

Another strong suggestion – and onethat should probably go without sayingby now: Refuse to use rebound anywherein your work. In renovations in particu-lar, this material is compromised andshould be disposed of properly.


This crack appeared once the old poolhad been stripped and was enough ofa concern that I brought in my struc-tural engineer to assess the situation.With his endorsement, we widenedthe crack in anticipation of filling itwith a non-shrinking grout.


One key detail in finishing our prepa-rations inside this shell had to do with fill-ing up the deep end of the pool withouthaving to “feather”the new gunite whereit met the deep end’s existing slope. Toavoid this potential point of failure, weset up a line and carefully chipped awaythe old material down two vertical inch-es. This means that, even at the edge, thenew material will be no less than twoinches thick.

Next: installation of the gorgeous tile inthe pool and the new spa.


33WATERsHAPES �MARCH 2004

David Tisherman is the principal in two de-sign/construction firms: David Tisherman’sVisuals of Manhattan Beach, Calif., and LiquidDesign of Cherry Hill, N.J. He is also co-founder and principal instructor for Genesis3, A Design Group, which offers educationaimed at top-of-the-line performance in aquat-ic design and construction.

WS

Once the crack across the floor of the old pool was filled with non-shrinkinggrout, we were ready to move on to waterproof the shell in preparation forfinishing the interior with a beautiful imported tile.


On a busy corner in downtown Palm Springs, Calif., stands an unusual scuMorris, ‘The Rainmaker’ was commissioned by community leaders who hoclimates while providing passersby with a place to cool off, relax and play.

34

In 1997, the City of Palm Springs Arts Commission held anational competition for a sculpture to be placed in a promi-nent public space, the Frances Stevens Park. I was intriguedby the site’s high visibility – and by the fact that theCalifornia city wanted a sculpture that used water in adesert setting.

Working from my studio on the East Coast, I put to-gether an initial proposal that included a number of ideas– provocative to me, certainly, but not yet finely tuned.

It wasn’t until I actually visited the site in Round Twoof the selection process that I knew just how perfect asetting was being offered – a wide-open space in thecenter of town,ringed by tall palm trees and low-lyingbuildings with the stunning San Jacinto Mountains asa backdrop.

So often in public art, a work is forced to competewith surrounding structures, but in this setting, thework could find harmony with its surroundings. Asa result, I made a concerted effort to refine and rede-fine my approach.

Sharpened ConceptThrough the years, I have worked with schemes

for kinetic water sculptures based loosely on the sim-ple deer-chaser mechanism found in Japanese gar-dens – the Shi-shi-o-doshi. This is a stream-water-fedbamboo tube that continually fills with water until itis thrown out of balance. It then rapidly rotates tostrike a second bamboo tube,making a hollow soundwhile pouring water back into the stream.

My work enlarges upon this scheme with, in thiscase, the sound of the water plunging into the basinreplacing the clunk of the bamboo and the elegantcontour of the water as it pours becoming the para-mount visual effect. In essence, choreographed move-ment is the objective.

As it turned out,a key member of the Arts Commissionhad seen an earlier water sculpture of mine at the OregonMuseum of Science & Industry (OMSI) in Portland and

was eager to see a variation of the same concept for PalmSprings. This was David Aiken, the commission’s chairman.

His support proved decisive,and I was selected to realize theproposal.

The sculpture consists of two curved, 35-foot-tall masts,each suspending a pair of wands that move in sweeping mo-

tions as they fill with water. They then pour sleek,glass-like arcs

ulpture that artfully moves water through the hot desert air. The work of New York sculptor David Curtoped the fountain would become a landmark celebrating the life-giving power of water in the driest of

SpiritedW

aters

By David Curt Morris

35

The Rainmaker composition springs from a Japanese gardenform, but it fits admirably into Native American culture and localtraditions having to do with rain dances and a desire to controlwater amid the unforgiving desert that surrounds Palm Springs.

36

of water into a circular catch basin. TheRainmaker motion is smooth and care-fully controlled – based upon a mechan-ical refinement and simplification of acomplex,programmable electromechan-ical hydraulic/pneumatic control systemI devised for the OMSI project.

The sculpture itself is all stainless steel.The two upright masts are 10 inches indiameter and coated with a black auto-motive epoxy. The wands are five inch-es in diameter and have been coated witha retro-reflective signage material forhigh visibility. The wands are easily seenfrom a great distance, especially afterdark, when they shine with almost neon-like brilliance.

The basin feeds a raised aqueduct thatencircles an amphitheater on its way to awading pool for children. This wadingpool sits at the entry to the courtyard ofthe adjacent Palm Springs Theater,wherethe splashing of water as it pours into thepool reverberates between the hard wallsof the passage. Before it gets there, someof the slow-moving water is diverted towet sections of the amphitheater steps,offering passersby yet another opportu-nity for interaction.

The aqueduct,the wading pool and wa-ter cascading over the steps are inviting toa public parched by the intense desert heat.But it is the wands of The Rainmaker thatgive the composition its visual distinctionand expressive character.

Symbolic RootsIn some southwestern Native American

cultures, rain dances were held to ensurethe well being of the tribe. The dancescalled either for water for crops or en-treated the Spirits not to destroy villageswith flash floods and water washes.(Water appears almost miraculously inthe palm canyons of southern California’sdeserts,alternately and unpredictably sus-taining or taking life in a brutally hostilelandscape.)

Similarly, the aqueduct was inspiredby the arroyos that form in heavy rain-storms, while the amphitheater is basedupon Native American gathering places.As I worked, a vocabulary of expressiveelements emerged and took physicalform: the Rainmaker spirit, the aque-duct or raised stream, the water-wash,


The Rainmaker’s wands move gracefully through the desert air as they fill with water and then spilltheir contents into a catch basin below. The wands are coated with a material that makes themstand out even at night, when they shine with neon-like intensity.

the amphitheater and, finally, the col-lection pool.

Other qualities of the desert landscapeare echoed in the colors and forms of thework, including the tall palms that rise upagainst the vast backdrop of the SanJacinto Mountains, the deep blue of thesky, the brilliant greens of the irrigatedgrasses, the deep red of the ubiquitousterracotta tiles and the burnt umber oflocal rock formations.

As this abstract program developed, Icould not lose track of the need to treatthe design as a destination for commu-nity recreation, relaxation and comfortas well as a work of art. After all, the spacein which The Rainmaker gyrates is in thecentral public park of the city. From myperspective, however, the task of makingthis corner of the park inviting to passers-by was simplified by the opportunitiesthat arise whenever water is part of thepicture.

The aqueduct, for example, not onlycradles the amphitheater, but it alsogives visitors a chance to walk throughor even sit in the water as it flows gen-tly over the wet areas of the steps.Throughout much of the year, it’s so in-credibly hot that passersby take the op-portunity to cool themselves by sittingin the water – and then are dry againwithin minutes of leaving the am-phitheater. A heat-resisting deck coat-ing was employed that permits visitorsto walk the dry areas of the amphithe-ater in their bare feet on even the hottestdesert days.

All of these practical choices were madein close collaboration with the city, prin-cipally in the person of Diane Morgan,director of the Palm Springs arts program,who was so deeply committed to the pro-ject’s success that it allowed us to navigatethrough some of the toughest problemsI’ve ever encountered, including poor per-formance of a prime contractor that ledto ridiculous delays and increasing restive-ness on the part of a rightfully frustratedcity council. (For details on how com-munity support saved the day, see thesidebar on page 40.)

Making HeadwayKey to turning things around was the

participation of concrete specialist Rich


Fed by the wands through the catch basin, the raised aquedect mimics the form of local arroyos as it cuts asinuous path between the Rainmaker and the splash pool at stream’s end, giving passersby ample opportu-nity to interact with the water and cool themselves as they move either toward or away from the wands.


Fellows in ArtThe decision to sponsor The Rainmaker was controversial, and

I give particular credit to David Aiken, head of the City of PalmSprings Art Commission, who resisted calls for polite, traditionaldesigns and throughout the process fought for my proposal.

Without Aiken’s support and that of arts program director DianeMorgan and director of downtown development Jerry Ogburnduring what became an arduous process, The Rainmaker wouldnever have made it to opening day. Their vindication comes inthe fact that the composition is now one of the most popularattractions on the city’s main street, Palm Canyon Drive.

When things became tough in the construction phase, I wasbuoyed by the support not only of the commission but also ofthen-Mayor Will Kleindeinst, City Manager David Ready and

Mayor-to-be Ron Oden. I owe special thanks as well toSymphony Conductor Maurice Engleman, who wrote avery timely and moving letter that caught the attentionof the City Council, and finally, to City Attorney DavidAleshire, who argued persuasively to the Council to getbarriers lifted and the water flowing.

Kathleen and Craig Blau – owners of The Chase Hotel,which served as my headquarters for the duration of theproject – deserve special mention: They were so intent onproviding ever-deepening levels of support and comfort thatthey pulled me from their wonderful hotel and set me upin their own guesthouse. Craig even volunteered on the dayof the sculpture installation to do essential and critical work.

– D.C.M.

Parzinsky,who came on the scene at a critical point.He believed in what we were doing and wanted to

see things through to completion. What followed wasa tremendous amount of jackhammering and refit-ting of the work that had already been done,but bad-ly. Without Parzinsky’s efforts,the project would nev-er have been realized. Considering all the difficulties,the final product is of a higher quality than we had anyright to anticipate.

After working long hours in terrible heat, Rich,his crew and I would gather in the bar across thestreet, wait for relaxation to settle in and then com-pliment one another on the high level of our col-lective workmanship – a far cry from the initialstruggles on site and for me a level of camaraderiethat made this one of the most rewarding work ex-periences I’ve ever had.

Before long, it was opening day. The city staged acelebration,putting up big tents to shield guests fromthe hot sun and offering a day of speeches, refresh-ments and music leading up to the ceremonial throw-ing of the switch that brought the sculpture to life.

From Studio to SiteAs is always the case with my projects, design and engineering

for The Rainmaker sculpture was carried out in my New York stu-dio. Extensive computer modeling preceded actual tests withworking models, then working drawings were prepared in col-laboration with R&W Engineering of Portland, Ore., with metalfabrication taking place in the superb art shop of Milgo-Bufkin inBrooklyn, N.Y.

To avoid on-site problems, all pumping, filtration, regulationand support-service equipment was factory-installed in a pre-fab-ricated vault and shipped whole from Oregon to Palm Springs.

This work was executed brilliantly by Jack and Greg Andersenof Andersen-Pacific, also in Portland. The installation resembled aNASA module and worked like a charm, with a five-horsepowerPaco pump for the aqueduct and washes, a three-horsepower Pacopump for the wands and a pair of Pentair pumps and filters for the restof the system.

– D.C.M.

The amphitheater’s wetted steps offer another chance for interaction with the Rainmaker’s bounty, offering park users not only the opportunity to sitnext to or even in the water, but also to rest and relax as they watch the sculpture wands move elegantly through space.

41

Peter Cattano has built a distinguished watershaping career by creating quality swim-ming pools in many of the Northeast’s most beautiful settings. Here, he profiles aproject he counts among his firm’s finest achievements: a vanishing-edge pool ina spectacular woodland setting – and the product of an artful collaboration amongthe clients, Cattano’s staff at Paco Pools and the talented landscape architects atSchlick Design Group.

An Elegant

Edge

An Elegant

Edge


I’ve always believed that great projects require three key elements: abeautiful design, knowledgeable and careful construction, and a goodclient. For the project pictured here, all three of those pieces were inplace, and the result has become a significant point of pride for ourfirm.

The site consists of three sloping acres in the upscale communityof Mill Neck on the north shore of Long Island, N.Y. The home sitsat the highest elevation of the property,which reaches down to a large,brackish pond fed by the waters of nearby Mill Neck Bay.

The swimming pool and surrounding hardscape and landscape wereincorporated into a complete renovation of the existing 85-year-old, two-story brick home, which had formerly been painted white. The brick has beensandblasted to reveal the rich colors of the original façade and match the veneeringof a building extension.The result is the classic look of a French estate home – all very taste-ful and elegant.

Out BackThe property already contained a gunite pool with an elevated, attached spa, but the design and ori-

entation of the watershapes did nothing to draw the eye toward either the magnificent stand of hard-wood trees that surround the space or the pond below. The clients rightly felt it all lacked personality andthe impact of pools they had seen in various books and magazines.

In fact, they’d done a good bit of homework about today’s pools and spas and had decided that whatthey really wanted was a vanishing-edge pool. I couldn’t have agreed more: It seemed like the definitivesetting for just such a detail.

43WATERsHAPES � MARCH 2004

By Peter Cattano

The pool sits in a terraced space downslopefrom the home and upslope from the pond anda heavily wooded area – from my perspective,the perfect spot for a dramatic vanishing edgedetail that would take advantage of both wa-ter-on-water and water-on-greenery views.


Better yet, although these were clientswith refined tastes and ready opinions,they willingly accepted the idea of work-ing with experienced professionals tobring together what they saw as a key in-vestment in their property and lifestyle.Once their general ideas had coalesced,they left it to Gary Blum of the SchlickDesign Group (Green Lawn,N.Y.) to de-sign and manage the overall project andto us at Paco Pools & Spas (Baldwin,N.Y.)to take care of the engineering and con-struction of the vanishing edge pool andits unique hydraulic systems.

I’m a firm believer in collaborationsthat involve people and organizationswith complementary skills and couldn’thave asked for more in this case. I’veworked with the staff at Schlick DesignGroup on a variety of projects throughthe past decade, and we’ve formed an as-sociation in which ideas flow freely, thingshappen intuitively and there’s a genuineunderstanding on both sides of the valueof a working relationship based on trust,experience and familiarity with the wayswe each work.

Here, Blum defined the areas to belandscaped and the shape of the pool,then left the details of the working design,

The raised spa is sheltered by a recessin the fieldstone wall, offering bathersa grand view out over the vanishingedge to the trees and pond beyond.The spillway falls into an area con-tained by the steppingstones, reduc-ing turbulence that might hamper theedge effect.

45

engineering and watershape construction to us. Histeam brought in and managed all of the subcontractorsand took care of the scheduling for all work being doneoutside the house and the guesthouse adjacent to thepool during a six-month renovation process.

Through it all, the clients offered their input and knewmore or less exactly what they wanted – but they werealso willing to let the project team take the ball and runwith it.

Making DecisionsWhen I first visited the site, initial discussions focused

on positioning the pool to maximize the visual signif-icance of the vanishing-edge effect. The plan was theresult of rounds of discussions,detailed measurements,assessment of elevations and careful consideration ofall relevant lines of sight.

As designed, the free-form pool has a surface areaof 1,300 square feet that flows to a sweeping, 33-1/2-foot vanishing edge. The water ranges in depth fromthree to eight feet. In the shallow end is a dam wall thatencompasses a raised spa. The raised wall is finishedwith stacked Pennsylvania fieldstone to match sur-rounding stonework.

The spa itself features eight bronze therapy jets and alarge weir finished with fieldstone. Directly in front ofthe spa are three large steppingstones supported at wa-ter level by small piers. The steppingstones allow visitorsto move from the main stairs leading from the house toa cabana and deck area on the opposite side of the pool.

There are no other water effects beyond the overflowfrom the spa and the vanishing edge. The overall de-sign is one of simple elegance, rather than layers of vi-sual and aural features. This was a perfect match for theclients’desire for straightforward and simple aestheticsthat placed maximum focus on the watershape’s rusticsurroundings.

As we all agreed, there’s a view of the pond over thevanishing edge from certain angles,but for the most part,the water flows toward a backdrop of trees. This is a bigpoint missing from the common perception of vanish-ing edges: There’s no rule that says you must have water-on-water views to make these details work visually. Infact, some of the most effective vanishing edges I’ve everseen disappear into fields of foliage, as in this case.

The colors we chose and the materials we used allfit within the rustic setting, from the New York blue-stone coping and the pool’s dark-gray plaster interiorto the deep-blue ceramic tile on the main pool’s water-line and on both long walls of the catch basin.

The decking in the large areas around the watershapehad to be cool underfoot, which ruled out more blue-stone, so Blum opted for a distressed, tumbled paver ina neutral, light-gray tone. As it turns out, the bluestonecoping set in the field of gray pavers sets up a contrastthat highlights the sweeping shape of the pool and


Materials were chosen with care and an eye to colors that fit withinthe rustic setting, including the dark-gray plaster inside the pool, thedeep-blue waterline tile, the bluestone coping and the tumbled light-gray pavers of the deck.

For all the simplicity of the design and the lack of dramatic waterfeatures,the hydraulics behind this watershape required a complicated plumbingsystem that led to a downslope equipment pad. In all, 18 major lines runbetween the pad and the vessel.

frames the vivid reflections of greenerysurrounding the pool. We’ve all been de-lighted to see how the visual character ofthe pool changes as lighting conditionschange through the days and seasons.

Focusing on the VisualsAs mentioned above,one of the things

we looked at very carefully in positioningthe pool and establishing its vanishingedge were lines of sight. We used the per-spective of a six-footer standing in the shal-low end as the prime observation point,working from there in setting up an edgethat angled away from the pool anddropped to a catch basin three-and- a-halffeet below the edge – not visible from anypoint on the house side of the pool.

There’s no formal path that leads to thedownslope side of the pool, but there’s agrassy area that offers access to a bench nextto the catch basin. For the most part,how-ever, the elevation drops quite rapidly be-yond the pool and much of the slope isplanted in a groundcover that doesn’t par-ticularly encourage visitors to pass that way.

What does encourage people to ven-ture near the edge wall is the fact that thepool is eight feet deep on that side. Thedeck is a bit elevated in that area, andthere’s a large, flat diving rock. Apparentlya favorite maneuver is to dive in, swim upto the edge and then hang over the weirto take in the scenery beyond.

A huge, flowering dogwood tree standsclose to the spa and is quite amazing whenit blooms each spring. The gorgeouswhite blossoms are spectacular: Eventhough they do find their way into thepool,everyone agrees that the sight of thetree reflecting in the water is worth thebother of cleaning the pool more oftenthan usual.

All of these visuals are supported byquality in hydraulic design – a hallmarkof what we do as watershapers. On thisproject, for example, we used three- andfour-inch plumbing to ensure lowpipeline velocities and minimal head loss-es. There are also three skimmers in thepool (a gesture to the dogwood as well asa means of reducing surface turbulence)and a twelve-by-twelve-inch commercialbox drain on the floor of the pool.

Filtration is handled by a 36-inch high-rate sand filter from Pentair Pool Products


A CrushedFoundation

As mentioned in the accom-panying text, the site had an oldpool that had been demolished,removed and backfilled beforewe arrived.

Soils testing of the backfilledarea revealed that the fill mater-ial was not sufficiently consoli-dated and therefore would nothold the new structure withoutfuture settlement. Rather thanincur the expense of setting upconcrete pilings, we dug out thenewly defined pool area down toan undisturbed, reliable ground.

With the hole dug, the exca-vation contractor hauled inmore than 250 tons of 3/4-inchchopped, angular bluestone andinstalled the material in 10-inchlifts, thereby creating a firmfoundation for the new poolshell at a fraction of the cost ofpilings, grade beams and asso-ciated structural engineering.

The pool is located at thebase of a large slope, whichraised concerns about groundwater from higher elevationsmoving under the shell and ex-erting hydrostatic pressure anduplifting force. So we also ex-cavated a five-and-a-half-cubic-yard pit at the deepest portionof the pool, filling it with crushedstone. Any water moving downthe hill will now be absorbed bythe underlying strata.

– P.C.

47

(Sanford, N.C.) and a two-horsepowerpump from Hayward Pool Products(Elizabeth,N.J.). The spa has two pumpsto run its array of jets, and the vanishingedge uses two pumps and two cartridgefilters to polish the water flowing throughthe catch basin.

We went with two pumps for the van-ishing edge effect to give it two personal-ities: With one pump on, the edge is sub-tly wetted,with only a small flow into thecatch basin; with both pumps on, the wa-ter breaks completely away from the edgeto create a waterfall effect.

Added BenefitsThat last point is, I think,an important

one,because too many watershapers losetrack of the importance of auditory ef-fects in watershape design.

In this case, the waterfall effect createsthe sound of a curtain of gentle raindrops,and the clients have told us repeatedly howmuch they enjoy walking alongside thepool just to listen to the soothing soundof the water flowing into the catch basin.

The sound is all the more unexpectedbecause it accompanies a highly reflectivesurface completely unaffected by turbu-lence. In addition to the multiple skim-mers, we set the pool’s returns low in thewall and covered them with anti-vortexcovers of the type used with main drains.In fact, the only agitation comes when thespa overflows – a phenomenon mini-mized by narrowing the pool in front ofthe spa to neutralize surface motion.

All of these systems and variable oper-ating configurations are managed by a con-trol system made by Jandy (Petaluma,Calif.), and a saltwater chlorine genera-tor by AutoPilot (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)is used for sanitization. Lighting is pro-vided by three 500-watt fixtures in the pooland one 250-watt unit in the spa – all ofthem on rheostats to enable the home-owners to control the mood.

We spent the better part of a weektrenching and laying down 18 lines to aflooded-suction equipment pad. To pre-vent collateral damage from check-valvefailure, we plumbed Hartford loops onthe return lines from the catch-poolpumps. This will keep gravity from push-ing the contents of the main pool into thecatch pool.

The pool itself is a picture of solidstrength. The concrete was applied to aframework of #4 rebar – on 12-inch cen-ters in the floors and six-inch centers onthe walls – with a double curtain of #4 barson five-inch centers in the vanishing-edgewall. The two decorative boulders flank-ing the edge are supported below with ex-tra steel that handles the surcharge.

This was all hard, detailed work, butthere was never a thought given to cuttinga corner or compromising in any way onquality. Our collaboration with the SchlickDesign Group worked beautifully, andwith their precise project management,

the entire process went smoothly fromend to end – a true delight in a universein which that’s not always the case.

As we look back on this project, we seethat everything fell into place – from theright clients to the right designers to theright contractors turning the right visioninto reality. The result is a setting thatwins praise for its simple elegance and forthe ease with which it fits into its verdantsurroundings.

Even when you strive to build qualitywatershapes each and every time, therearen’t all too many that come togetherquite so neatly as this one.


As a reward to the adventurous, the downslope side of the vanishing-edge walloffers a sublime aural experience to go with the stunning visuals, but the focus ofthe design is the upslope views of the water disappearing into greenery or into thepond beyond.

in a Seashellin a Seashell

ArtistryArtistryAlways on the lookout for deluxe natural and man-made finish materials but frequentlyfrustrated by the hunt, designer Barbara Zigann took matters into her own hands afew years back. After extensive research and experimentation, she brought anunusual and flexible blend of seashells, fossils, glass and cement to market – anenvironmentally friendly product that brings something unique to any watershape orarchitectural setting.

By Barbara Zigann


51

As a designer, I’ve always sought out exceptional finishmaterials to use in my projects.

My background is in fine arts, and I’ve worked in thedesign/build business for years, creating high-end exte-rior and interior spaces and taking pride in finding sur-facing products that excite my clients and beautify thework. Operating in south Florida, however, I kept run-ning into so many limitations on what was available thatit had the effect of limiting my creativity. Natural stonecan be hard to come by in adequate supply where I live,for instance, and as much as I like tile, it doesn’t fill thebill for every job. Anything’s available at a price,of course,but even affluent clients often will flinch when they seewhat’s involved.

For a time, I focused on local materials and used nat-ural coral, putting its rich assortment of soft colors andtextures to use – perfect for swimming pool environ-ments. Unfortunately, the coral beds along the Floridacoast have been badly depleted, and restrictions placedon coral mining in 1995 have dried up supplies to thepoint that what we find today is mostly rubble in an un-attractive brown color.

Many of us tried Philippine limestone and Mexicanshell stone – interesting,but where flat material was wide-ly available, trim pieces were not. I tried cast stone andsome of the paver and stamped-concrete products, butthe results were inconsistent and seldom looked natural.Finally, I became so frustrated that I decided to developa new product that would have the beauty and richnessof a natural material with the reliability, consistency andconvenience of a manufactured product.

The Answer UnderfootAs I looked around and considered possibilities, I even-

tually began examining the geological composition ofFlorida itself, which rests largely on a bed of seashells.While it supports our every footstep, this material gen-erally sees the light of day only when it comes up as a wasteproduct in mining for sand.

In fact, just about the only use for the material has beenas a drainage enhancer – in much the way pea gravel isused in other places. What I discovered is that most ofthis shell material is, in fact, treated as waste – and wastherefore available in huge quantities for little more thanthe cost of transporting it.

It dawned on me that this “garbage” could be turnedinto a resource by someone with the right idea about whatto do with it.

Through my research, I learned a good bit about min-ing, how building materials are created and how thoseprocesses affect the planet. I read and heard about en-vironmental depletion, how marble quarrying irrepara-bly scars the landscape and more – and began to thinkmore and more in terms of developing a product thatdidn’t exact such devastating costs. And I couldn’t get thepiles of discarded seashells out of my mind.


I soon thought about combining theshell material with its cousin,Portland ce-ment,which, like seashells,predominatelyconsists of calcium carbonate. When westarted experimenting with the two ma-terials,we found almost instantly that theyworked well together: The seashells havean extremely porous structure that ab-sorbs the cement paste, causing the twocomponents to bond well in an extreme-ly durable cement/aggregate matrix.

So we continued the research, experi-menting with concrete admixtures tocome up with a mix that yielded good-looking, durable results. After two yearsand a great deal of trial and error, we de-veloped a mixing schedule that now servesas the basis for our SeaStone line of prod-ucts.

Playing with the PaletteIn playing with the product through

the development process,we learned thatwe could achieve different looks by chang-ing the degrees to which the shells wererevealed in the mix – everything fromsmooth,cream-coat finishes to highly tex-tured, exposed-aggregate-type finishes.We found that color could also be ad-justed by using either gray or white ce-ment and other color additives.

From there, we developed the conceptof using fossilized plants and fish to en-hance the natural appearance of the stone,and, ultimately, we began playing withbroken glass, another abundant waste

product. Before long,we saw that we hada fairly complete product line.

At the same time, we were beginningto think in terms of applications. Fromthe start, we saw that the product couldbe used in interior and exterior designs.Our first thoughts were about using theproduct on flat surfaces in dry,above-the-waterline situations, so we created moldsfor coping, end pieces and trim piecesto go along with panels and large, flat tiles.At about this time, it occurred to us thatthe product was water resistant and couldbe used in submerged applications as well.

Next we focused on equipment and themanufacturing processes needed to pro-duce the material in large quantities andin a variety of forms we’d projected. Asluck would have it, this part of the devel-opmental plan was fairly straightforwardand involved a number of tried-and-truetechnologies.

Basically, the shells, cement, water andadmixtures are moved into a big mixerand processed before being poured intoa large vat in which we create a “batter”with various colorants and added aggre-gates, such as fossils or glass. The mater-ial is then conveyed to pressure molds andleft to cure. That’s all there is to it – ex-cept for the pieces in which we expose theseashells, in which case we add a stepwhere the surface is ground using dia-mond cutting tools.

Of course, the above description over-

simplifies the process,and there are manyadjustments we make that enable us tocustomize batches and tailor appearancesto client needs. But it really is a fairly sim-ple (and familiar) process.

In appearance, the finished productsall have soft, natural colors – much likethe familiar palette of natural coral. Thebasic color is buff, but with all of the del-icate creams, taupes, grays and pinksfound in seashells and coral.

With the glass added, the product en-compasses a wide range of stronger anddarker colors as well. Even so,we’ve madeno attempt to compete with more dis-tinctly architectural materials such as glasstile or other boldly colored finishes.

In No HurryWe entered the market in 1998 and

have always taken a conservative path.We’ve wanted to make certain we wouldgrow at the right rate and could alwaysmeet demand while offering completetechnical support. We lived for feedbackas well,and we’ve always taken special carein working with contractors who weretrying the product for the first time.

At first, we limited our distribution toFlorida, targeting the large number of de-signers in the Sunshine State who werelooking for an alternative to coral. We alsopursued ASTM registration of our prod-uct’s quality and consistency – somethingunavailable with truly natural materials


such as coral,where experience taught usthat compensating for flawed pieces oftenmeant over-ordering by up to 30%.

We also continued to look at applica-tions and began to perceive the product’snatural connection to water. Indeed, wefound that SeaStone works equally wellin dry and wet applications, even in de-tails such as beach entries,where the pres-ence of shells and fossilized marine lifecreates direct visual ties to familiar aquat-ic environments.

We’ve continued to refine installationtechniques as well. Given that the prod-uct is made in panels or large tiles (either3/4 or 1-1/2 inches thick in standardsizes), grout is involved, which is why werecommend waterproofing beneath thematerial in submerged applications to en-sure a proper seal.

Next in line is a family of specially de-signed waterline tile pieces, with addedglass for a bolder appearance and ad-mixtures designed to reduce alkali silicareactivity (ASR) and make the productfully useable in true wet/dry applications.(For now,we recommend the product foruse either in completely submerged ormostly dry settings.)

The Green SceneThe way we see it – and as our clients

tell us – the fact that the product is madealmost entirely from waste or recycledmaterials works distinctly in its favor. Buteven in places where the “environmen-tally friendly”label doesn’t translate to in-creased demand or sales, the productstands on its own because of its appear-ance and its performance in the field.

Indeed,the success of SeaStone will rest,as it should, in the usefulness of the prod-uct as a finish. We see the environmen-tal aspect as a bonus,as we do the fact thatthe product has a texture that is very slip-resistant and conforms to standards set bythe Americans with Disabilities Act. Thenthere’s the fact that the material doesn’tabsorb heat and is therefore well suited tooutdoor settings in which people walkwith bare feet.

These features have led to a positive re-ception for a product borne entirely ofmy frustration – not a bad outcome for amaterial that would otherwise be dis-carded as waste!


Whatever the application – as steps, as pool coping, on the waterline, as a beach entry or on ar-chitectural planes – the product is a flexible surfacing material with a strong visual characterand a distinct, coral-like texture and coloration.


Built to function and compete inan era when marketing matters forhealthcare facilities, the McKay-DeeHospital Center was designed tocreate a soothing, supportive, heal-ing environment for patients, visitorsand staff – so much so that the cen-ter looks more like a resort hotel thana medical institution.

The architecture is open and soar-ing, offering sweeping views from in-terior spaces set up for comfort andrestfulness. Designed by Jeff Stoufflerof HKS Architects of Dallas, the struc-ture is organized around a four-storyatrium that runs the length of thebuilding, offering clear lines of sightnot only to distant mountain and val-ley views, but also to nearby land-scapes graced with winding paths andbeautiful watershapes.

The opening of the 690,000-square-foot facility on March 25, 2002, wasaccompanied by great public fanfare.As people in the community have em-braced and begun to seek care there,it’s been a point of pride for all of usat Bratt Water Features to know thatthe beautiful curving lake that wrapsaround the exterior of the gleamingbuilding is one of the things peoplesee, enjoy and appreciate the most.

Broad ScopeOur job was to build all of the wa-

tershapes, including seven small foun-tains and the big lake system,based ondesigns prepared by Waterscape Con-sultants of Houston and by landscapearchitect James Burnett, also of

Good

Medicine

The watershapes that literally embrace theMcKay-Dee Hospital

Center in Ogden, Utah, were crucial to

the success of the facility’s self-

consciously relaxing, curative

environment, says DerkHebdon, president ofSalt Lake City’s Bratt

Water Features.Highlighted by a 65-

foot water plume and asoothing, 170-foot-wide

sheet waterfall, thecomplex was designed

with the needs of patients, visitors, staff

and the community verymuch in mind.

By Derk Hebdon


ALL-EMBRACING: The project was executed on a grand scale with a shape somewhat suggesting the head of Bullwinkle, the cartoon moose,whose antlers wrap around the west end of the hospital to create a zone of soft sounds and recuperative serenity.

Houston. As bidders on the installationcontract in 1999,we had the advantage ofbeing a local firm – but we also broughtextensive experience with large-scale pub-lic waterfeatures to the table.

And this project was big. As far as any-one on the design team knows, this is thelargest waterfeature/fountain complexever built in the state of Utah. We refer tothe feature as “Bullwinkle”because,whenseen from overhead, its oddly symmetri-cal free-form shape casts a silhouette re-sembling the cartoon moose’s head andantlers.

The antlers wrap around the footprintof the southwest end of the building,withthe nose stretching away from hospital tocreate a broad lake with a towering geyserat the far end. The 175-foot-wide, 500-

foot-long watershape features a 170-foot-long waterfall between the antlers and thecrown of Bullwinkle’s head that faces anoutdoor pavilion/eating area served by anindoor café.

The water falls four feet into a teardrop-shaped lower pond that serves as a catchbasin – and which turned out to be crit-ical to system operation as well as to pro-ject aesthetics, as I’ll explain below.

After winning the bid, we came on siteand had to deal with a muck pond fedby a natural spring that happened toemerge just where the lake was to be in-stalled. Helpfully, the project’s excava-tion contractor had set up an extensivesystem of French drains around theperimeter of the lake site. We were ableto use this as part of our dewatering sys-

tem, but we soon found that we need-ed to take greater measures to build asplanned.

Indeed, it was a constant struggle in theearly going. Our excavator often boggeddown in mud, for example,and it took usweeks instead of days to shape and installthe vessel. Ultimately,we handled the flowby setting up three ponding locations nearpoints where the spring poured into ourbasin. We set up “trash” pumps at thesespots that ran constantly to keep the wa-ter level down.

On ‘Dry’ GroundOnce the dewatering system was ful-

ly functional, we completed the excava-tion and began the next stage of con-struction by laying out the extensive


AURAL EFFICACY: By day and when lit at night, the long weir treats those sitting on the deck area to the sights and sounds of falling water. The

network of intake and return lines.There are eight intake areas in the wa-

tershape, each made of perforated six-inch pipe and set in the catch basindownstream from the waterfall. The in-takes feed into two 12-inch lines that runabout 100 feet to the pump vault. Thepump array consists of three 10-horse-power pumps – one driving the geyserand the other two returning water to thelarge upper lakes.

The water is returned via bottom-mounted, anti-vortex assemblies madeby Roman Fountains of Albuquerque,N.M. The hospital team was adamantthat they did not want to see anyswirling or foam on the water’s surfaceabove the returns.

With all the plumbing laid, we were

ready to place the liner system – a “sand-wich” consisting of a geo-textile under-layment topped by a 45-mil rubberEPDM liner that was in turn topped byanother geo-textile layer. This entiresurface area was then covered by graveland cobble.

The pipes were positioned beneath thegravel and cobble,which effectively formsbig biological filters above the intakepoints. In our experience, this is the bestway to maintain water quality in big lakes:Whenever we can set it up this way, wego for it – and the results are consistent-ly awesome, with water so clear you cansee right through to the cobbles.

We did things this way because weknew right from the start that crystallinewater was of paramount importance to

the hospital team. They wanted to makethe paths around the grounds accessi-ble to wheelchair-bound patients andthose able to walk on their own, and ofcourse they wanted everything those pa-tients and their guests would see to bepristine, healthful and encouraging.Given a high projected volume of traf-fic that would include patients, visitorsand staff, there was simply no room forcompromise.

With these systems established, wemoved on to deal with the project’s manyaesthetic details.

Far FallsThe most dramatic of these details is

the long weir. Approximately 2,000 gal-lons per minute flow over this extended


emphasis here was on soothing rather than overwhelming, with a light flow of gently cascading water rather than a more impressive (and noisier) flow.

edge to create a thin sheet fall.The weir itself is an engineered, poured-in-place reinforced-concrete

wall that’s 18 inches thick with a large concrete footer – dead level fromend to end. A local structural engineer prepared this detail, which alsoneeds to retain the considerable weight of the water in the upper lake.

Finished with the same Utah stone veneer used throughout the hos-pital structure and hardscapes, the structure is lit by 65 underwater brasslighting fixtures, 200 watts apiece, that line the base of the falls and lightthe whole expanse spectacularly at night.

The falls reward observers who take it in from multiple angles anddifferent perspectives. From a large part of the path that wrapsaround the lake, for instance, the water flows over the edge in a van-ishing-edge effect – a classic water-on-water view where the lowerpond comes into play. When you’re out in the deck area next to thewaterfall, the view of the sheeting water is quite dramatic in a dif-ferent way – but all in keeping with the thought of maximizing asense of soothing and healing rather than stirring up excitement ormuch noise.

The bottom pool is just 14 inches deep and a fraction of the size of theupper lake, which makes this catch basin the functional heart of thesystem. When the pumps are shut down, a considerable amount ofwater from the upper pool flows into the lower vessel, which has just aneighth of the surface area of the upper pool. This meant that we had tocome up with a mechanical solution to accommodate the rare occasions

58

EASING ACCESS: The watershape is surrounded by pathways that allow reason-ably close approaches to the water, enabling patients as well as staff to pick fa-vorite spots at water’s edge to enjoy the sights and sounds beyond – whether fac-ing the weir and its falling water (A) or taking in the long vanishing-edge effect (B).



A

B

Seven FountainsSeven small fountains are strategically located at the

entrances to the building – in all cases, nice examplesof the ways small amounts of flowing water can havepositive effects on settings.

Five are very small and do little more than send smallwater flows over low walls, echoing the weir effect ofthe main feature. There are also two others that con-sist of large boulders cut into large wheels or disks, withwater pooling and flowing gently over their sides.

Although these watershapes are quite modest bycomparison to the lake, they add a sense of tranquilityto their spaces and serve their intended purposes bysoothing patients, visitors and practitioners as they en-ter and leave the hospital facility.

– D.H.

59

P


Product

Information Card

Advertiser Index:

For more information on advertisers and/or productsfeatured in this issue’s Of Interest section, circle thecorresponding Product Information Number on thepostage-free card opposite this page.

Rea

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Ser

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6 Advanced Aquaculture Systems (pg. 64)(813) 653-2823 www.advancedaquaculture.com/landscape

3 Aquamatic Cover Systems (pg. 3)(800) 262-4044 www.aquamatic.com

7 Artistry in Mosaics (pg. 69)(877) 777-1393 www.artistryinmosaics.com

121 BakerHydro Filtrations (pg. 15)(800) 247-7291 www.bakerhydro.com

99 Balboa Direct (pg. 12)(800) 645-3201 www.balboadirect.com

13 Bronzelite (pg. 8)(800) 273-1569 www.bronzelite.com

27 Color Match Pool Fittings (pg. 33)(714) 779-5221 www.poolfittings.com

8 Cover-Pools (pg. 71)(800) 447-2838 www.coverpools.com

11 Coverstar (pg. 27)(800) 617-7283 www.coverstar.com

123 Fiberstars (pg. 13)(800) 327-7877 www.fiberstars.com

16 Genesis 3 Schools (pg. 61)(877) 513-5800 www.genesis3.com

Gilderfluke & Co. (pg. 68)(800) 776-5972 www.gilderfluke.com

81 Hadco (pg. 25)(800) 331-4185 www.hadcolighting.com

77 Irish Natural Stone (pg. 14)(617) 737-7397 www.francismccormack.com

96 Jandy (Water Pik Technologies) (pg. 72)(800) 227-1442 www.jandy.com

63 Macalite Equipment (pg. 67)(480) 967-0770 www.macaliteequipment.com

84 Multicoat (pg. 9)(877) 685-8426 www.multicoat.com

1 Natare (pg. 14)(800) 336-8828 www.natare.com

109 National Plasterers Council (pg. 21)(866) 483-4672 www.npconline.org

4 National Pool Tile (pg. 7)(888) 411-8453 www.nptgonline.com

61 Pacific Clay Products (pg. 68)(909) 674-2131 www.pacificclay.com

107 Pebble Technology (pg. 19)(800) 937-5058 www.pebbletec.com

58 Pem Fountains (pg. 23)(800) 387-3600 www.pemfountain.ca

45 PoolFog (pg. 18)(866) 766-5364 www.poolfog.com

130 PoolRock.com (pg. 26)(520) 573-0025 www.poolrock.com

66 Praher Valves (pg. 30)(800) 461-4915 www.prahervalves.com

54 Rain Drop Products (pg. 69)(800) 343-6063 www.rain-drop.com

48 Roman Fountains (pg. 11)(800) 794-1801 www.romanfountains.com

67 Roman Fountains (pg. 66)(800) 794-1801 www.romanfountains.com

86 Savio Engineering (pg. 24)(888) 333-2356 www.savio.cc

106 SeaStone Group (pg. 32)(800) 657-7866 www.seastonegroup.com

79 Speck Pumps (pg. 49)(800) 223-8538 www.usa.speck-pumps.com

35 Spray Force Mfg. (pg. 20)(800) 824-8490 www.sprayforce.com

42 Standard Bronze (pg. 66)(201) 339-1351

52 Stegmeier Corp. (pg. 16)(800) 382-5430 www.stegmeier.com

131 TXI Riverside Cement (pg. 18)(888) 232-4910 www.txi.com

125 Vanson HaloSource (pg. 17)(888) 282-6766 www.seaklear.com

100 Vortex Aquatic Structures (pg. 29)(877) 586-7839 www.vortex-intl.com

56 Waterway Plastics (pg. 2)(805) 981-0262 www.waterwayplastics.com

135 Stegmeier Corp. (pg. 64)

136 Bradford Products (pg. 64)

137 Multiquip (pg. 64)

138 Stepstone (pg. 64)

139 Waterway (pg. 66)

140 Replications Unlimited (pg. 66)

141 Firestone (pg. 66)

142 S.R. Smith (pg. 66)

143 NSW (pg. 67)

144 Palapa Kings (pg. 67)

145 Skimmerlid.com (pg. 67)

146 Fascut Industries (pg. 67)

147 Cal Pump (pg. 68)

148 Acu-Trol Programmable Controllers (pg. 68)

149 Certol International (pg. 68)

150 Water Tech (pg. 69)

151 Brass Baron (pg. 69)

152 Emecole (pg. 69)

153 Caterpillar (pg. 69)

Of Interest Index:

HOW GOOD DO YOUWANT TO BE?

Professional Drawing & Presentation School

April 12-18In Los Angeles this spring, Genesis 3 co-founder and principal instructor DavidTisherman will lead an intensive, weeklong, professional-level course designedto show participants what it really takesto develop top-flight drawing and pre-sentation skills.Open to a limited number of applicants, the schoolwill cover rendered flat plans in multiple presentationformats, markers, vegetation, surface materials, watereffects, elevations, color prespective rendering andmuch more.

Developed at the request of pool professionals, land-scape architects and graduates of Genesis 3’s Level Iand Level II schools, this dynamic program is basedon professional-level drawing courses DavidTisherman taught at UCLA for 12 years. Cost (includ-ing accommodations, meals and all drawing materialsand media) $5,950.

Applications are now being accepted. A $1,500deposit is required.

Genesis 3 is proudly sponsored by Jandy, Pentair, Aquamatic, Pebbletec, Sta-Rite, SonarGuard, Aqua Magazine, AutoPilot/AquaCal and WaterShapes.

Founded by: David Tisherman, Skip Phillips and Brian Van Bower

(615) 907-1274 / Toll Free: (877) 513-5800 / FAX: (615) 907-7338 / www.genesis3.com / [email protected]

GENESIS 3 - THE INTERNATIONAL FORUM FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR WATERSHAPE DESIGNERS


GENESIS 3 LEVEL I DESIGN SCHOOL

October 27-31, 2004Morro Bay, California

CURRICULUM HIGHLIGHTS• Limited number of participants to ensure

the highest level of instruction • Each class is taught by industry professionals• Special focus on design, engineering, vanishing

edge details, construction, drawing and pre-sentation techniques, hydraulics, the history of swimming pools and fountains, plus much more!

• Tuition includes classroom time, supplies, first-class accommodations and food. Airfare is not included.

• Participants are encouraged to bring a guest orspouse. Please call for more information and prices.

when the system’s pumps would not be operating.To do so, we ran an 18-inch pipe to a specially

designed drain – 12 feet long, two feet high andthree feet wide – that we installed in the lowerpond. This upright rectangular structure has over-flow slots that can be adjusted to set the level of thepond. In effect, this drain works like a stilling well,allowing water to gather as it is pumped out – inthis case to waste via the site’s storm-drain system.

The overall water level is controlled using a sim-ilar (but much smaller) stilling well equipped withan electronic sensor wired to a relay that controlsa valve assembly hooked into the city water sys-tem. (At first, the hospital had us plumb the make-up system to a reservoir adjacent to a nearby dam.Almost immediately, however, we experiencedproblems with seeds and organics that came inwith the water, so the system was re-plumbed intothe public water utility.)

As long as the system is running, the only thingrequiring control is the level of the bottom pool –basically to accommodate losses due to evapora-tion with fresh make-up water.

A Healing FlowOn the upper lake’s far end (relative to the hos-

pital), there’s a spray effect that sends an aeratedcolumn of water 65 feet into the air, creating afalling curtain of water that lends an inspiring senseof majesty to the space.

This feature is fed by a six-inch PVC line thatflows to six, two-inch fountain nozzles suppliedby Roman Fountains. The water moves at 500gpm, running from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m – except


at times when the wind exceeds five milesper hour. Five 500-watt submersible lightsmake it glow beautifully at night.

There are also three centrally locatedaerators, each bottom-mounted and dri-ven by a blower located in the pump vault.They run during the hours – from 10 p.m.until 7 a.m. – when the fountain is off.

The pump vault is buried beneath alandscaped area close to the water. This15-by-12-foot space sits beneath a collarthat yields a generous eight-foot interi-or ceiling height. The vault houses thepumps, the aeration system and the wa-ter make-up system and has two vents– one equipped with a thermostat andan exhaust fan. There’s also a sump-pump assembly that will come on au-tomatically if the vault starts to flood forany reason.

One of the fascinating aspects of thisproject is its reflection of a trend in hos-pital- and healthcare-facility design to-ward borrowing ideas from the hospital-ity industry. As the managed-careindustry has become more competitive,beautifying facilities has become a meansof drawing patients as well as health-careprofessionals. This made our work onthis big waterfeature doubly meaning-ful by combining high quality with highpurpose. And it seems to have worked onboth levels ever since the facility openedits doors in 2002.

All it takes is watching a patient walk-ing or being wheeled around the waterand enjoying the sights and the soundsto muster a sense of satisfaction thatspeaks to the fact that,when used the rightway, water really is good medicine.

GOOD MEDICINE: Up close or from a distance, the65-foot spray effect rising above the pond’s crystallinewater is the key visual feature of the hospital’s wa-tershape complex, lending a sense of majesty to thespace without altering its aim of being both peace-ful and comforting.

63


OF INTERESTOF INTEREST The following information has been provided to WaterShapes by product suppliers. To find outhow to contact these companies, look for the Product Information Card located on page 60.


STEGMEIER CORP. has published its 2004 Catalogof construction forms for use in setting up cop-ing and deck systems for gunite and vinyl-linedpools. The 66-page booklet covers forms for usein creating details such as cantilevers and fiberop-tic tracks as well as systems for deck drains, ex-pansion and control joints and more. A specialgatefold at the end of the catalog lays out all of

the profiles. Stegmeier Corp., Arlington, TX.

Circle 135 on Reader Service Card

DECKING AND COPING CATALOG

BRADFORD PRODUCTS offers a complete line ofstainless steel gutters for swimming pools. The prod-ucts come in five styles for a variety of applications(four with grates, one an open-throat system); ac-cessories and options include converter boxes forfiltered-water return, recessed steps, deck drains,trough gutters, gutter-wash systems, ceramic-tilefacings, gutter grates and more. Bradford Products,Wilmington, NC.

GUTTER SYSTEMS



MULTIQUIP offers the Whiteman HTXand STX hydraulic ride-on trowels.Designed for simple operation andbetter control than previous modelswith the same high-level productivi-ty, the units feature improved steer-

ing responsiveness, simultaneous blade-pitch control, rotor-speedcontrol and easy service access. The HTX finishes paths 192 incheswide; the STX has a 117-inch path width. Multiquip, Carson, CA.

RIDE-ON TROWELS


STEPSTONE has published literature on its clas-sic pool coping line. Available in 11 different ra-dius dimensions, nine standard colors and ei-ther a sandblasted or lightly stippled surfacefinish, the pre-cast coping is made of high-strength, hard-rock concrete to offer durabilityalong with fine aesthetics. The literature covers architectural details andapplications, and color/finish samples are also available. Stepstone,Gardena, CA.

POOL COPING


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Yes! Please send me copies of the issues I’ve checked in the list above! (Issues are available for $6 each)

r Enclosed is a check for $ _________ , payable to WaterShapes.

r Here is my credit card information, with authorization to cover my order total of $ __________.Please note: VISA or MasterCard ONLY!

Card Number ___________________________________________________ Expiration date _______________

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r February 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 1)Tisherman on working in difficult soils; White onedge treatments; Lacher on expansive soils.n April 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 2)Hopkins on designing with large rocks; Hareon basic hydraulics; Straub on shell curing.r June 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 3)Phillips on water and decks; Parmelee & Schickon soils and geology; Anderson on water sounds. r August 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 4)Anderson on stream design; Adams on commu-nity waterparks; Gutai on spa hydraulics.r October 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 5)Holden on aquatic-design history; Mitovich ondry-deck fountains; Tisherman on site geometry.r December 1999 (Vol. 1, No, 6)Finley on Japanese gardens; a roundtable on poolsand landscape design; West on color rendering. n January 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 1)Hart on designing for model homes; Zaretsky onretaining walls; Chapman on hydrid pool finishes.r February 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 2)Hersman on lighting design; Macaire on faux-rock installations; Andrews on glass mosaics. r March 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 3)L’Heureux on project management; Long on steelcages; Forni on installing and maintaining lakes.r April/May 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 4)Schwartz on garden access; Anderson on stream-beds; Nantz on watershapes and architecture.r June/July 2000 (Vol, 2, No. 5)Holden on fountain-design history; Bibbero onlarge stones; Anderson on making streams work.n August 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 6)Tisherman on shapes; Lucas on watershapesfor wildlife; Ryan & Medley on the vertical axis.r September 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 7)Davitt on designing for small spaces; Altvater onthe importance of aeration; Hetzner on sheet falls.n October 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 8)Lampl on natural design; Anderson on finishingstreams; Rubenstein on kinetic water sculpture. r Nov./December 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 9)Arahuete on John Lautner; L’Heureux on stretch-ing laminar flows; Benedetti on satellite surveying.r January/February 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 1)Holden on a retro-look design (I); Fleming on

upscale approaches; Gutai on pump technology.r March 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 2)Moneta & Farley on site-specific design; Benedettion fiberoptics; Alperstein on golf-course water.r April 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 3)Jauregui on inspired clients; Dirsmith on frostyfountains; Tisherman on deluxe finishing.r May 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 4)Reed on sculpture gardens; L’Heureux on se-quenced water; Brandes on restoring riverfronts.r June 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 5)Winget on fun-inspired waterforms; Holden onsurvey formats; Schwartz on classic stonework (I).r July/August 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 6)Rugg on pond basics (I); Ruthenberg on perime-ter overflow; Schwartz on classic stonework (II).r September 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 7)Rugg on pond basics (II); Urban on energy sav-ings; Pasotti on interactive waterplay.r October 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 8)Tisherman on hilltop views; Hagen on naturalstream work; Schwartz on classic stonework (III).r Nov/December 2001 (Vol. 3, No. 9)Straub on Kansas City’s fountains; McCloskey onthe Getty Center; Tisherman on Fallingwater.r January 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 1)Phillips on Hearst Castle’s watershapes; Boweron the Raleigh Hotel pool; Roth on Katsura Rikyu.r February 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 2)Marosz on project integration; Moneta on spa-edge details; Affleck on scupture and water.n March 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 3)Holden on a retro-look design (II); Morris onwild water; L’Heureux on fountain lighting (I).n April 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 4)Oliver on multi-level flows and transitions; Gutaion pump basics; Dews on hiding headwaters.r May 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 5)Anderson on pond essentials; Pasotti on inter-active waterplay; Gibbons on ‘stellar’ fiberoptics.r June 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 6)Altorio on civic fountains; Gutai on skimmers;Beard on working with landscape architects.n July/Aug. 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 7)Holden on retro details; Dunn on quality, mid-range pools; Varick on grand-scale watershaping.r September 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 8)Rosenberg & Herman on site-sensitive design;

Dirsmith on long-term design; Gutai on filters.r October 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 9)Copley & Wolff on modernizing fountains; Bethuneon imitating nature; Tisherman on edgy colors.r Nov/December 2002 (Vol. 4, No. 10)Holden on Villa d’Este; Hobbs on Maya Lin’s wa-tershapes; Phillips on water in transit.r January 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 1)Fleming on high-end ambitions; Harris on deco-rative interior finishes; Gutai on surge tanks.r February 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 2)The Beards on collaboration; Yavis on customvinyl-liner pools; Mitovich on Microsoft’s campus.r March 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 3)Fowler on habitats for marine mammals; Benedettion outdoor kitchens; Dews on planting pockets.r April 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 4)Shoplick on watershapes as teaching tools; Gutaion water flow; Schwartz on Maya rockwork.r May 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 5)Zaretsky on sensory gardens; Freemanon hydraulicretrofitting; Hanson on water/stone sculpture.r June 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 6)Gunn on fountain whimsy; Tisherman on water-shaping for an art collector; Holden on tile.r July 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 7)Fintel on attracting birds; Lacher on structural en-gineering; Alperstein on golf course design.r August 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 8)Miller on site-specific fountains; Gutai on plumb-ing joints; Holden on period-sensitive restoration.r September 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 9)Hebdon on borrowing naturalism; Ruddy on in-door designs; So on modernist sculpture.r October 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 10)Mitovich on dry-deck fountains; Roth on liner is-sues; Marckx & Fleming on glass tile.r November 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 11)Holden on carved stone; Shaw on roles of con-sultants; Forni on period-sensitive renovation.r December 2003 (Vol. 5, No. 12)Five-year article and topic indexes; five-year indexfor all columns, 1999-2003.r January 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 1)Ruddyon enclosures; Lacheron steel and concrete;Forni on water quality for natural watershapes.r February 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 2)Varick on nature and architecture; Benedetti on

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City ______________________________________ State _______ ZIP _____________________

Mail your completed form to WaterShapes, P.O. Box 306, Woodland Hills, CA 91365 – or fax it to (818) 715-9059


OF INTERESTOF INTEREST

WATERWAY has published its 30th AnniversaryCatalog, a 204-page book covering its completelines of pool and spa products. The pool sectionincludes pumps, sand and D.E. filters, chlorina-tors, valves, blowers, skimmers, drains, fittingsand more, complete with parts lists and diagrams.The spa section features jets, falls, fittings, man-ifolds, air controls, filters and more, once againwith full schematics. Waterway, Oxnard, CA.

EQUIPMENT CATALOG


REPLICATIONS UNLIMITED has introduceda series of easy-to-install, pre-manufacturedstreams, cascades and waterfall kits for res-idential watergardens and landscapes. Durablebut lightweight, the streams are available in12 modular sections that can be combined ina variety of positions and levels. Molded fromreal rock formations, they can be added to existing ponds or can standalone. Replications Unlimited, St. Louis, MO.


PRE-FABRICATED STREAMS

S.R. SMITH introduces the Big Dipper poolslide for residential or commercial pools. Thedurable, four-piece, heavy-duty, roto-moldedpolyethylene structure is available in a creamcolor with either a right or left curve and hasa self-contained water-lubrication system.The unit needs a 4-by-10-foot deck footprint,assembles in less than one hour and can be mounted into the deckor on-deck. S.R. Smith, Canby, OR.


POOL SLIDE

FIRESTONE manufactures PondGard EPDMrubber liners for ponds and other water-features. Designed for flexibility, durabilityand easy installation, the .045-mil-thick ma-terial is safe for fish and plant life, comes ina range of sheet sizes from small to im-

mense, resists weather and UV-degradation and has high expan-sion/contraction characteristics that enable it to conform to sub-gradeobjects. Firestone, Carmel, IN.

POND LINERS


Circle 67 on Postage Free Card Circle 42 on Postage Free Card



PALAPA KINGS offers high-quality thatchedshade structures for use in a variety of ap-plications. Ranging from seven to 12 feet indiameter with single main poles, the perma-nent fixtures are designed to last more than15 years and are available with two roof styles– either a natural, hand-woven palm thatch in two layers or a reed thatchbonded with a polyurethane mix for use in adverse climate areas. PalapaKings, Carlsbad, CA.


THATCHED SHADE STRUCTURES

FASCUT INDUSTRIES offers the Lobster line ofhandheld rebar cutters. The tools are availablein two corded 110-volt models and a cordlessrechargeable 12-volt model. One of the cord-ed models cuts bars up to #6; the other two cutup to #5. All models feature a cutting head thatcan be rotated up, down or sideways, allowing for quick cutting of barsin different positions and locations. Fascut Industries, Sauk City, WI.


HAND-HELD REBAR CUTTERS

NSW has adapted its extruded rigid-plastic tubesto protect standpipes for ponds and other circu-lating water systems. The extensions preventstandpipe blockage by trash, sticks, leaves or smallwildlife by maintaining free flow through the tube’splastic mesh. They are available in 1-, 1-1/2-, 2-,3- and 4-inch diameters for use with schedule 40PVC pipe and can easily be cut to length for any

application. NSW, Roanoke, VA.


STANDPIPE PROTECTORS

SKIMMERLID.COM makes metal skimmer lids asa finishing touch for pool decks. Each lid is castand professionally finished, with inner- and out-er-ring patterns turned on a lathe for beauty andsymmetry. Available in bronze or in powder-coat-ed aluminum in four standard colors (gray, cop-

per-vein, tan or dark brown) and many custom colors, the lids are slip-proof, groundable and secure. Skimmerlid.com, Pittsburgh, PA.

METAL SKIMMER LIDS


New Complete Trucks Available

?WATERsHAPES �MARCH 200468

OF INTERESTOF INTEREST

CAL PUMP has introduced the SK2, a new generation of thecompany’s line of pond skimmers. The unit is made of high-impact, weather-resistant ABS, eliminates the need for manu-al skimming and can be used effectively in ponds as shallowas 12 inches deep. The device, which can easily be retrofit-ted into existing ponds, is designed for easy installation – notools are required. Cal Pump, Valencia, CA.


POND SKIMMERS

ACU-TROL PROGRAMMABLE CONTROLLERS offers the newSmart pH controller, a water-quality management system de-signed specifically for residential pools and spas. Made with com-mercial-grade components, the device continuously measurespH and adjusts chemistry to avoid troublesome highs and lowswhile reducing chlorine consumption. Acu-Trol ProgrammableControllers, Auburn, CA.

PH MONITOR/CONTROLLER


CERTOL INTERNATIONAL offers AquaMagic, a specially formulatedmuriatic-acid replacement that cleans rust, scale, oil and grime from pooldecks and tiles. Ideal for use on indoor pools, the product has all the ad-vantages of acids while nearly eliminating their dangers and toxic fumes.The 100% biodegradable liquid also works for acid-washing without anydangerous fume cloud. Certol International, Denver, CO.

DECK AND TILE CLEANER


Need moreInformation?

Use the ReaderService Card



BRASS BARON offers an extensive line of gardenstatuary, fountains and design accents for use inlandscapes and around watershapes. Statues in-clude everything from swans, fish, frogs and dol-phins to little boys and girls in a wide range of pos-es and finishes. Planters and faux-stone ponds andfountain bases are also available, and several of thestatues are paired with ponds in special packages.Brass Baron, San Diego, CA.


GARDEN STATUARY

WATER TECH now offers a professional versionof the Blue Diamond pool cleaner. Designed to cleanpools up to 75 by 25 feet in four hours or less, therobotic cleaner automatically changes cleaning di-rections to cover every inch of a pool. It also comeswith an infra-red obstacle detection system, has aramp/beach entry sensor and includes a remotecontrol device for spot cleaning. Water Tech, NewYork, NY.

ROBOTIC POOL CLEANER


CATERPILLAR introduces TH220B andTH330B, two new telehandlers in its B-Series line. The units offer responsive han-dling, improved fuel efficiency and reducedmaintenance requirements along with newcontrols for easier operation and more work

tools and options for greater versatility. The bucket linkage provideshigh breakout forces for digging with five available bucket styles.Caterpillar, Peoria, IL.


EARTH-MOVING RIGS

EMECOLE has published a guide to aid in se-lecting among its line of products for concrete-crack repairs. The sheet covers major perfor-mance features for each material – working time,time to injection, removability, color and mixratio – and offers capsule descriptions of ap-propriate residential/commercial applications.All products are designed for low-pressure (up

to 250 psi) injection repairs. Emecole, Romeoville, IL.

CRACK-REPAIR GUIDE





atershaping can be so demanding a profession that it’s easy to losesight of the fact that what we do should really be fun and enjoy-

able. That’s why I bring up two books this month that make a case for ap-proaching your work in ways that encourage a daily sense of joy and adven-ture for both you and your clients.

The first is simply titled Fish! Written by Stephen C. Lundin, Harry Pauland John Christensen (Hyperion,2000), it’s a modern parable about a womannamed Mary who has taken over as manager of her company’s toxic-wastemanagement division.

It’s a job with horrid potential,but as the story goes,Mary is helped by a vis-it to the famous (and very real) Pike Place Market in Seattle, where she’s cap-tivated not only by the wonderful fish on sale, but also by the joy and pleasureshe derives from shopping there. What Mary learns is how to take a seeminglymiserable job and turn it into something that is not only tolerable,but in manyways extraordinary.

She learns along the way that you choose your attitude and that how youfeel about what you do for a living or in your personal life is really a matterof choice. She also recognizes that, whatever it is you do, you should give ityour full attention while you’re doing it, avoid distraction and stay in the mo-ment. This is crucial, we learn, to providing clients with a memorable expe-rience that leaves them feeling good about their interaction with you.

A final lesson Mary learns at Pike Place is the importance of playing while youwork. This is not to say that one should goof off or waste time, but that youshould have fun and find joy in diligence and in focusing on the task at hand.

Certainly all of this is wonderful advice andsomething from which many of us might gainwisdom and a more positive approach to the of-ten-arduous process of building pools,spas,ponds,streams,fountains and other bodies of water. Butmost of us also know that, while it’s easy to givelip service to finding joy in our work, it’s anoth-er challenge to apply such principles over time.

That’s why the same authors followed up theirfirst trip to the fish market with Fish! Sticks(Hyperion,2003). Here,we meet a nurse namedRhonda who works in a hospital that has im-plemented a program to foster a positive work-ing environment – but has seen those efforts fadewith time.

Rhonda visits a fictional sushi restaurant in NewYork City and,like Mary,comes away with an im-portant set of lessons aimed at maintaining thepractices and attitudes described in the first book.

First, Rhoda learns, you must “find it,”mean-ing that when you take on a new approach youmust internalize the idea by figuring out whereyou fit within the overall scheme of the business.Second, you must “live it,” which means deter-mining in specific terms what you can do to ap-ply the positive attitude. (This is a big point,be-cause every company and organization isdifferent and the authors make it clear throughRhoda that all companies and all individualsneed to find their own paths.)

Finally, Rhoda recognizes that there’s a thirdstep and that she must “coach it.” This can bebest described as establishing and implement-ing the structure in a way that each person is in-volved and every person participates in reach-ing the organization’s overall goals.

Each of these books checks in at fewer than120 pages,making for extremely quick and veryentertaining reading. As is the case with otherbooks that define principles that can be appliedacross various situations and disciplines, Fish!and Fish! Sticks are books you may find yourselfreturning to as you work to create what I chooseto call “the adventure of watershaping.”

By Mike Farley

book notes

Fish Tales

W

Mike Farley is a landscape architect with more than20 years of experience and is currently a designer/pro-ject manager for Gohlke Pools in Denton, Texas. Agraduate of Genesis 3’s Level I Design School, he holdsa degree in landscape architecture from Texas TechUniversity and has worked as a watershaper in bothCalifornia and Texas.

Design • Engineering • Construction March 2004 Woods Waters · 2017-04-06 · Sculpture and...

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Transcript of Design • Engineering • Construction March 2004 Woods Waters · 2017-04-06 · Sculpture and...