design • engineering • construction c · discussion and dazzling set of images offered by an...

Inside: David Tisherman on Placing Boulders

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

PLUS:A look at the functions

and selection of backwash valves

PLUS:A look at the functions

and selection of backwash valves

Mattersof Import

Mattersof Import

Making a place for theexotic in watershape design

Making a place for theexotic in watershape design

Volume 7Number 2February 2005$6.00

CallCurtain

CallCurtain

The ups and downsof great rain effectsThe ups and downsof great rain effects

Circle 56 on Postage Free Card

4 WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2005

February

Shapingthe RainBy Jon MitovichAn insider’s look atmaking water curtains flow

40

Objects of DesireBy Daryl Toby

Putting the old, exoticand authentic to good use

32

BackwashingBasicsBy Steve GutaiFunctions and selection criteria for backwash valves

46ContemporarySensibilitiesBy Martha & Randy BeardExploring the watershapes of architect Mark Singer

52

contents

features

WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2005 5

In This Issue

Advertiser Index

Of Interest Index

Of Interest

6

8

58

58

62

10

18

24

66

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 7 • Number 2 • February 2005

StructuresBy Eric Herman

Something old,something new

Aqua CultureBy Brian Van Bower

Give-and-take inthe design process

Natural CompanionsBy Stephanie Rose

Finding real valuein trade shows

Detail #48By David Tisherman

The fine art ofrock wrangling

Book NotesBy Mike Farley

Learning aboutour aging clientele

66

columns

departments

24

10

On the cover:Photo courtesy Jon Mitovich, Roman Fountains, Albuquerque, N.M.

EditorEric Herman — 714.449-1905

Associate EditorMelissa Anderson Burress— 818.715-9776

Contributing EditorsBrian Van Bower David TishermanStephanie Rose Mike Farley

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 2005. 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.

Watershaping is one of the few art forms possessed of the ability to bridge thegaps between the very old and the very new.

From the classic looks of Roman baths and the reflecting pools of ancient Islamto the brisk modernity of slot-overflow details and fountains that dance to mu-sic, watershaping is fully capable of embracing cultural artifacts and design prece-dent as well as the most dazzling elements of modern design and technology.

Perhaps the most significant unifying factor between old and new (beyond thewater itself) is that many of today’s clients want it both ways in their projects,whethercommercial or residential, public or private. Working with that theme, we’re serv-ing up a pair of articles that explore not only the extremes of antiquity and moder-nity, but the accessibility of both as well.

Beginning on page 32 – in “Objects of Desire”by Daryl Toby – you’ll find a uniquediscussion and dazzling set of images offered by an equally unique designer. Tobyis founder and president of AguaFina,a landscape-design firm that has built its rep-utation on including elements of the past in its work,mostly in the form of rescuedbuilding materials and art objects from Asia as well as modern reproductions ofantique originals.

In using pieces that are sometimes hundreds of years old, Toby gives his clientsdesigns that embody and express a character of artistry and craftsmanship thatcannot be replicated by contemporary means. In many cases, these are small touch-es that lend focal points to otherwise contemporary spaces; in others, the use of an-tique materials defines almost every square inch of the work.

In sharp contrast,on page 52 you’ll find “Contemporary Sensibilities”by Marthaand Randy Beard. This piece is a continuation of a series of articles about their on-going work in executing the designs of top architects, landscape architects and de-signers in Southern California and adapting and molding their construction skillsto suit a broad range of styles and design philosophies. In this case, they guide usthrough two projects by Mark Singer, a well-known Orange County architect.

This is contemporary residential exterior design at its finest, and the combi-nation of the Beards’expert installation and Singer’s transcendent skill with clean,rectilinear designs yields contemporary spaces filled with beautiful materials,clever use of elevations and razor-sharp lines that are at once accessible and vi-sually compelling.

To be sure, the two approaches celebrated in these beautiful articles are not mu-tually exclusive. It’s easy, for example, to think of modern designs that incorporateold garden ornaments or statues as well as Asian-influenced designs that featuremodern sculpture or dramatic linear forms. Fact is, the design sensibilities appliedto watershaping are as fluid, flexible and dynamic as can be, and the possibilitiesare limited only by the imagination – and your clients’willingness to try somethingnew and different.

ttt

Please note: In our December issue’s Platinum Standard coverage, page 62, wemisidentified George Forni’s firm. He operates Aquatic Environments in Alamo,Calif.

WATERsHAPES �FEBRUARY 20056

By Eric Herman

structures

Old and New

WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 200588

Daryl Toby is president and principal ofAguaFina Gardens & Imports, a landscape/ar-chitectural design and construction firm inSylvan Lake, Mich. He first entered the land-scape trades while in high school in 1987, whenhe established AFM Landscape to focus on con-struction and maintenance. He studied envi-ronmental management and natural resourcesat Michigan State University, earning his bache-lor of science degree in 1992. Adopting thename AquaFina in 1997, Toby’s firm moved inthe direction of Asian-style gardens and water-features. Now a passionate world traveler, hefirst toured Asia in 1998 and became interestedin importing and using authentic art objectsand architectural materials. This became abusiness function of its own in 1998, and thefirm now supplies materials to watershapingand landscape firms throughout the country.

Jon Mitovich is president and general manag-er of Roman Fountains, a designer and manu-facturer of fountain-system packages and com-ponents based in Albuquerque, N.M. Hegraduated in 1976 from Southern MethodistUniversity’s Cox School of Business in Dallasand has participated in seminars on fountainand pool design at UCLA and Harvard’sGraduate School of Design. Mitovich is a mem-ber of the American Society of LandscapeArchitects, the Construction SpecificationsInstitute and the National Spa & Pool Institute.He has conducted classes and seminars on thefountain business and fountain design for vari-ous ASLA and NSPI chapters to help water-shapers understand the origin, history and ap-plication of water in architectural environments.He also has written for a variety of trade publi-cations, including WaterShapes.

February’s Writersin this issue


Steve Gutai is product manager for pumps,filters and valves with Jandy/Laars Products,a division of WaterPik Technologies ofPetaluma, Calif. Gutai is a veteran of theswimming pool industry, having spent morethan 13 years as an independent service andrepair technician and subcontractor in the LosAngeles area. He spent three more years as atechnical service manager and outside salesrepresentative for Waterway Plastics inOxnard, Calif. Gutai joined Laars & Jandy in2000 and now works directly with contractorsand engineers in designing circulation systemsfor pools, spas and other watershapes. Heteaches hydraulics at trade shows throughoutthe United States and is the featured hydraulicsinstructor for Genesis 3’s Level 1 schools.

Martha and Randy Beard own Pure Water


Interested in writing for WaterShapes on design, engineering or construction topics? Contact Eric Herman at (714) 449-1905!


Pools, a construction/service firm in CostaMesa, Calif. They met in 1981 while both wereworking behind the scenes in the entertainmentunit at Knott’s Berry Farm. At the time, Randyalso had a small pool-service business and con-vinced Martha (Marti) to invest in expandingthe route. They purchased Pure Water Poolsfrom another technician and have operated inthe Costa Mesa/Newport Beach area ever since.As the route grew, both dropped their otherjobs and focused entirely on the pool businessas small repairs led to big repairs, big repairs toremodels, and remodels to new construction.Each year, they’ve seen their projects becomemore creative and technically challenging.Today, the firm works with many of the area’sleading architects and landscape architects tocreate a range of custom watershapes for up-scale commercial and residential clients.


onderful projects often proceed at their own paces.More often than not,high-end clients on either the commercial or

residential side will require us to spend a great deal of time and effort in de-veloping,adjusting and revisiting designs so they wind up with exactly the wa-tershapes and spaces that best suit their needs and desires.

Sometimes that process is tremendously involved,as has been the case witha project I discussed in a previous “Aqua Culture”installment (May 2004,page10). The clients are creating what they’re calling a “world-class pamperingspa”as a major expansion of an existing facility in Jacksonville, Fla.

Our work on the project includes a broad range of decorative and recre-ational watershapes,all aimed at providing the firm’s customers with the high-est possible levels of relaxation and enjoyment. As we’ve moved through theinitial design phase and into the plan/document stage in preparation for con-struction bids, the clients and their project team have made a cluster of key ad-justments that in most cases have improved the overall design.

at the entryIn one small instance,however, I think they’ve

compromised the overall watershape program.We had originally designed an entry feature in

the driveway that would have included a beautifulabsolute-granite finish with a perimeter overflowand a fire feature at its center. Ultimately,howev-er, the owners decided to go in a more conserva-tive, traditional direction,and we’re now workingon a basic circular fountain with a high-plume jetin the center and a circle of smaller spray jets sur-rounding it along with some tasteful lighting anda small landscaped area. The material will now besimple cast stone around the outside, with tile onthe inside.

I’ve told the project team what I think, be-cause I thought the original scheme wouldhave gone further in grabbing attention andsetting the mood for visitors accessing the fa-cility. And frankly, I’m still puzzled by the de-cision, because the owners had made a bigpush about wanting to draw attention to thefacility from all major exterior focal points.Ultimately, however, it’s their facility – and thisis one of those concessions designers are some-times forced to make.

Inside, by contrast, the design is much morein keeping with our original thinking. Once vis-itors enter the building, they pass through thelobby and move into a short corridor that leadsto the main sections of the spa. On either sideof this space – which we know people will bepassing through quickly – we’ve set up an inter-esting (yet subtle) mood-setting feature.

What they see are two narrow,seat-level vesselsten feet long by 18 inches wide that are finishedon three sides by glass tile and on the fourth by

By Brian Van Bower

aqua culture

High-end clients on the commercial or residential

side often require us to spenda great deal of time and effort

in developing, adjusting and revisiting designs so they wind

up with exactly the watershapesand spaces that best suit their

needs and desires.

ComfortableAdjustments

W

an annealed acrylic material. Bench seatshave been placed atop these transparentwalls. Inside each of the vessels, five smallbubbler jets create water movement – andthere are lights on both ends of each benchto accent the disrupted surface.

The idea was for a simple, dancingglow to emanate from beneath thebenches and wash the surrounding floorwith light deflected by the movement ofthe water. The glass-tile further influ-ences the path of the light and enhancesthe overall effect. There’s nothing boldor forceful or noisy here – just a ripplingsurface transferred by the lighting to thefloor between the benches.

One minor adjustment we made herewas at the waterline on the non-tiled sides:There were concerns that scale mightbuild up on the acrylic and become amaintenance issue, so we added a narrowband of tile at the waterline.

once insideMoving from the corridor into an area

known as the “Great Room,”visitors en-counter a much more significant featurethat includes dual-sided glass cabinetsthat contain rows of gas-operated, elec-tronic-ignition candles.

Two identical cabinets essentiallyframe a fountain area in the center – anornate watershape with contoured edgesand benches. The ceiling has been low-ered a bit above the fountain and even-tually (we hope) will have rain jets thatwill drop a curtain of water between thecabinets – a heavy flow in the middlewith gradually diminishing flows towardthe edges.

The idea here is to establish a uniquevisual and aural barrier to separate a din-ing area on one side from the area whereguests prepare themselves for variousmessage and therapy services on the oth-er. As I discussed last May, there are con-cerns about the noise level in this space,and the current plan is to mock up theentire setting so the owners can see andhear for themselves just how strong the

effect will be once installed.Our original plan had called for a glass

water wall with the name of the facilityetched into it with a two-sided fireplaceon one end. In this case, the owners likedthe idea of the water and the fire butpushed us to develop the design further.The creative give and take here has led toa truly unique design that will make anextremely strong statement while servingas an effective barrier.

Our work continues at the back of thebuilding, with a pair of couples’ mas-sage areas with four-foot-diameter, five-foot-deep, Japanese-style soak tubs instainless steel. These vessels are to befilled with water set at a desired tem-perature and then drained at the com-pletion of each massage session. Small,wall-mounted drip effects will lend asense of water in motion as well as a soft,soothing sound.

The idea here is that after couples haveenjoyed their massages, they can rinseoff in a nearby shower and then con-


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clude their treatment with a warm dipin these tubs. To me as a huge propo-nent of massages, this seems a particu-larly brilliant plan.

Moving into the men’s and women’slocker rooms,we had originally designedan angled wall feature with water and tilethat would separate the two areas – an-

other space calling for a subtle,mood-set-ting effect. This space is a current focusof discussion and refinement, and we’renow thinking of increasing the visual ap-peal of this feature by recessing a decora-tive, hammered-metal panel to be back-lit with water running over it.

This will be much more artistic than


aqua culture

This view shows the array of hydrotherapy features organized into the pool and spa, includ-ing the four alcoves (each with a distinct purpose), the stand-up area in the spa and, again,the shallow lounging area in the pool.

This section shows the relationship of the exterior spa and the pool below along with someother key details, including the custom handrails leading into both vessels, the vanishingedge flowing from spa to pool and the shallow lounging area in the pool.

the simple water wall we’d proposed,andI really like the idea. Here’s hoping theowners will buy into it.

hot and coldInside the locker rooms’“wet areas,”

we went through several revisions onsets of hot-spa/cold-plunge vessels. Theoriginal concept was for floor-flushperimeter-overflow vessels – great visu-ally and perfect with respect to easy en-try and egress.

The facility’s staff, however, was con-cerned that in cleaning the floors aroundthe tubs, rinse water would slosh into thevessels and cause problems. To meet thatconcern, we’ve slightly amended theperimeter overflow so the stone grateswe’d been considering will present aslightly raised bullnose edge as a barrierto water flowing in from outside the ves-sels. (We worked through this detail withHarris Brothers of Marina, Calif. – theU.S. distributors for Sofikitis, a Greekstone supplier.)

We also adjusted the size of the hotspas slightly so that the women’s is larg-er than the men’s: Experience has taughtthe facility’s managers that more womenuse the locker-room spas than do men.Each of these vessels has its own circu-lation system.

Right next to the spas in the samerooms are small cold-plunge vessels thathold no more than one or two people. Inorder to conserve space for equipmentand knowing that these systems will re-ceive far less use than the hot-water spas,we combined the circulation systems forthe two chilled vessels.

Outside the locker rooms is a largeexterior spa that includes a broad van-ishing edge that spills into a large swim-ming pool below. This design wasmodified to include a stand-up areawith arrays of jets that massage guestsfrom their upper bodies to their lowerlegs. We’ve configured the vessel so thepeople in the stand-up area will havea view over the vanishing edge to thepool below. On either side are twobenches at different levels and deck-ing with lounge chairs – also offeringviews of the vanishing edge.

The big pool has expanded through thedesign phase and now includes a large,

shallow area that will accommodate 16lounges set up in pairs with umbrellas be-tween each pair. Originally, the designcalled for small platforms that would serveas small tables between paired lounges,but that was abandoned to maximize thepossible number of lounges and givemore flexibility to the space.

We used the same limestone grate sys-

tem here that was designed for the lock-er-room spas, but in this case thestonework will be flush with the deck.The surrounding deck and the shallowlounging area will be finished with lime-stone material that will match the grates.

The pool also includes a stainlesssteel rail that leads down a broad set ofsteps to the central deep area of the


15WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2005

pool. It has a sculptural quality andlends a graceful sweep to the composi-tion that complements the arched van-ishing edge above.

completing the sceneIn another neat twist, the pool also in-

cludes four therapy alcoves recessed intothe wall of the pool opposite the perime-

ter-overflow edge. The alcoves are con-toured like small, semi-circular bandshells, each offering a different type ofhydrotherapy treatment.

One alcove, for example, will be out-fitted with a swim jet that can be usedfor swimming in place or resistance ex-ercise. Another will be set up with a sub-merged lounge constructed with stain-

less steel tubing. This will enable a guestto recline in the lounge above streamsof water and air from jets below. (Animportant adjustment was made hereto allay the clients’ concern that some-one could trap a hand or foot under thetubing. We added solid sides to thelounge to prevent such an accident.)Another alcove will include a multiple-impact waterfall-therapy feature forneck, shoulder and upper-back massageaction.

The clients may (and probably will)come up with additional alterations andnew wrinkles as we move forward, butat this point I’m reasonably confidentthat the vast majority of the design de-cisions have been made. Even thoughthe clients haven’t accepted all of theideas we’ve presented during the longprocess, they’ve let us know how muchthey appreciate the range of ideas we’vepresented and seem satisfied that they’regoing to get just the world-class pam-pering spa they’ve been seeking.

Ultimately, providing comfort and en-joyment is what watershaping is all about,and I remain excited by this design because,eventually, that is exactly what this pro-ject will offer anyone who visits for a day ofpampering and relaxation.



Brian Van Bower runs Aquatic Consultants,a design firm based in Miami, Fla., and is a co-founder of Genesis 3, A Design Group; ded-icated to top-of-the-line performance in aquat-ic design and construction, this organizationconducts schools for like-minded pool de-signers and builders. He can be reached [email protected].

WS

aqua cultureThe clients may come

up with additional alterations and new

wrinkles, but at this pointI’m reasonably confident

that the vast majorityof the design decisions

have been made.


’ve never been big on trade shows and conferences. For years I have resist-ed them in the belief that they were mostly for those who had time to at-

tend them and craved the camaraderie and social opportunities they offered.I’ve always looked at the programs and have seen that there’s usually been

something to learn during these events, but I brushed off the possibility ofattending because I always thought I could get most of what I needed byworking and paying attention to books and magazines. Also, there was al-ways the issue that, as the sole provider in a one-person operation, spend-ing so many days away from my clients and prospects would prove costly.

I know now that it’s time to change my tune.For a variety of reasons, I broke down and decided to attend the Aqua Show

in Las Vegas last November. The main attraction for me was the fact that Icould get a day-long dose of David Tisherman’s drawing course at a fractionof the cost of Genesis 3’s week-long school.

on the roadEver since I was a kid,one of my passions has always been drawing. I thought

Tisherman’s course would give me a push toward integrating more of my artisticskill into my everyday work. This, I thought,would make the work more enjoy-able for me while at the same time it might improve my presentations.

What I didn’t anticipate is the wealth ofknowledge,networking, information exchangeand other peripheral benefits I’d gain by beinga landscape designer in the midst of a bunch of“pool guys.”

Writing for WaterShapes for six years has giv-en me some insight into the world of watershap-ing, but my sense now is that I hadn’t truly inte-grated what I’d learned or fully comprehendedhow much my familiarity with the magazine hadinfluenced my work as a landscape designer. Itsurprised me,but that’s the strong effect the showhad on the way I now think about what I do.

I came to the show and the drawing class withsome relevant background: For the past few years,in fact, I have been honing my skills in botanicalillustration. But running my own design business,supervising jobs and dealing with the multitudeof other activities of daily living has made it diffi-cult to explore my capabilities in this arena – andI have always been slightly frustrated that I haven’thad time to paint or draw as much as I would likeand instead do little more than draft blueprintsthat don’t fully engage my artistic impulses.

I’ve incorporated color into my drawings forsome time, but I’ll concede that I haven’t beenconfident enough to develop fully detailed per-spective drawings or elevations for my clientsand tend to stick to quick sketches. What Ilearned at the show and have been applyingsince is the real value of developing (and using)these skills as part of my presentations.

So I get to use my artistic skills to elevate mybusiness. What more could I ask?

As Tisherman says, he doesn’t sell projects;rather,and as anyone who has seen his drawingsand designs knows, they sell themselves. Beforethe long day was through, I saw that the sameprinciple applies to the landscape realm and thatthe bottom line is that we cannot snap a pictureof how a finished design will look. With sometraining and practice and a little talent, howev-er,a good designer can draw pictures for clients

By Stephanie Rose

natural companions

Forget about the fear of spending the time and

money: Finding a good coursein perspective drawing and

presentation skills will pay off.

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that will enable them to visualize the ba-sic look of the finished product.

Tisherman has said this very thingcountless times in his columns and arti-cles in WaterShapes, but in his classroomhe brought the thought home in a mostcompelling way.

applying knowledgeIn thinking about the course since I

came back home,I’ve come to see the roleof presentation drawings in a new light.

I know that changes will occur from thatinitial drawing,but I also see how the firstimpression a drawing makes will work inmy favor on several levels at once. First,clients see what they will be getting andcan either buy into the design as is or sug-gest changes; no matter what specificallyhappens, this process reveals and/or gen-erates a design direction. Second, clientssee that you have artistic talent and can ex-press and communicate your ideas effec-tively – a big confidence booster for them.Third, if the first two points work in your

favor, clients will be inclined to hire you.As a result of all this, I have a stronger

view of how art can work for me – andI’ll also rid my life of at least one sourceof frustration by working on my drawingand coloring skills while doing what I lovein designing landscapes.

Even if your passion for the work does-n’t extend to drawing, I would highly rec-ommend to any landscape professional (orpool professional,for that matter) who does-n’t already have drawing skills finding a goodcourse in perspective drawing and presen-tation skills. Forget about that fear of spend-ing the time and money: It will pay off.

I was so impressed by the drawingclass that I developed a keener interestin attending the other seminars stagedduring the Aqua Show by the Genesis 3team. In addition to talks by Messrs.Brian Van Bower,Skip Phillips and DavidTisherman, I also sat in on Janet LennoxMoyer’s presentation on landscape light-ing, Anthony Archer-Wills’ discussionof pond design and James van Sweden’s

talk on the use of water in landscape.I went to these seminars believing I was

familiar enough for my purposes with thesubject matter and, in James van Sweden’scase, with the specifics of his approachesthat I could have stayed away from any orall of them,but what I found in attendingand listening to audience questions anddiscussing specifics with colleagues after-wards is that I picked up much more thanI’d expected – particularly from my per-spective as a landscape designer.

One of the most interesting points thatcame up in the presentations and dis-cussions is that landscape designers andarchitects have a distinct advantage overpool professionals because we come toclients’ tables with defined levels of de-sign expertise.

That’s not to say a “pool guy”can’t de-sign just as beautiful a watershape as cana talented landscape designer or archi-tect. It’s just that by integrating our yearsof design experience with the technicalaspects of watershaping, we have some-


natural companions

Circle 101 on Postage Free Card Circle 78 on Postage Free Card

thing of an edge in developing a more in-tegrated final product – if, of course,we’ve taken the time before embarkingon these projects to learn about and workwith others in the watershaping trades tothe betterment of our efforts.

back in the fieldAs in all things, it’s how you use your

knowledge (new or old) that makes thedifference. I wouldn’t even begin to ap-proach a project that included a water-shape, for instance,without first consult-ing with a qualified installer to discoverjust what will be involved in taking theproject to completion.

For a project in which I’m currently en-gaged, I’m working with two poolbuilders,a general contractor,a landscapecontractor, an arborist, an artist, a light-ing designer and various other peripher-al tradespeople. My job at this point isproject management – that is, facilitatingcommunication and solving problems onthe job site and making certain that every-one, including the clients, knows exactlyhow the project is progressing.

We’re working with my design, but Irecognized even before putting pen to pa-per that this would be a collaborative ef-fort and that all of these trades and effortswould have to be coordinated to completethe project successfully.

What surprised me is the enhanced ap-preciation I have of my role in the aftermathof my experience at the trade show. In talk-ing with watershapers and hearing the kindsof things they think about through the ques-tions they asked,I have since found it easi-er to communicate with them in the field.To be sure, attending a conference is a bitlike speed reading,but it gave me a clear un-derstanding of some things I’d never reallyconsidered and showed me a whole rangeof things I still need to learn.

The most profound insight I pickedup at the show is that, after six years ofwriting for watershapers and repeatedlydiscussing the importance of integrat-ed design, collaborative effort, clear con-struction planning and all the other el-ements of good watershaping, I’ve beenpretty much on the right track all along.What seems funny to me,however, is howmuch more strongly I feel that way nowthan I did before I went to Las Vegas.

WATERsHAPES � FEBRUARY 2005 21Circle 100 on Postage Free Card

working the processThese steps were all part of what I’ve been

doing for all these years,of course,but I’mnow conscious of the process in a way thatenables me to communicate more clearly,effectively,and right up front with my clientsand collaborators about what’s coming.

I’m more comfortable now meetingwith clients to let them know that blue-prints and technical and perspectivedrawings are tools that get a project mov-ing but that the project may evolve anddevelop as the process unfolds and thatflexibility may be required to create aquality result. Any client who does notunderstand or accept this point, I nowknow, is probably a client to avoid.

By contrast, clients who comprehendthe overall process are likely to be thoseyou’ll enjoy working with and will end upwith great watershapes and landscapes. It’sour job to educate them and to providethem with enough information (written,expressed or drawn) to make good deci-sions about their projects as they develop.

That’s a lot of insight flowing from aquick, four-day experience at a trade showthat seemed on its surface to be com-pletely out of my line as a landscape de-signer, but there you have it. My adviceto others in the design trades is to lookfor these opportunities: A trade show’sfocus may seem peripheral to your skillsor scope of work,but I found that this oneworked for me on a number of levels.And I suspect there are other events outthere that may be similarly useful.

I guess you could view this as a way of“thinking outside the box”and steppingout of our pigeon-holes. In my case, theAqua Show was a jolt – and a breath offresh air that helped me see the opportu-nities open to design professionals whowork skillfully with water.



I think it’s because we all tend to oper-ate in isolated arenas,coming out as need-ed to work with others in completing aninstallation. We’ll design and then watchour designs being built. Whether it’s land-scaping, watershaping or construction,however, I now believe as never beforethat there’s more to it than that.

Through recent experience at the show

and back in the field, I see that what hasbeen missing from my projects is the fullunderstanding that, although we’re en-gaged in designing and building some-thing, there’s a bigger process involvedthat includes changes and dealing withthe unexpected and managing client ex-pectations in ways I’d never understoodso clearly before.

Stephanie Rose runs Stephanie RoseLandscape Design in Encino, Calif. A special-ist in 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]. Shealso can be seen on episodes of “The SurpriseGardener” on HGTV.

WS

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Genesis 3 co-founder and principalinstructor David Tisherman will lead anintensive, week long, professional-levelcourse designed to show participantswhat it really takes to develop top-flightdrawing and presentation 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 that DavidTisherman taught at UCLA for 12 years. Cost (includ-ing accommodations, meals and all drawing materialsand media) $6,139.

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o me, setting natural stone has always seemed something like assem-bling a very large jigsaw puzzle: All the pieces have to fit together, and

there’s definitely a right way and a wrong way to make it happen.I start the process systematically by laying stones out in an adequately large

area and then just looking at them. As I go, I visualize how each will work aspart of the overall composition and identify stones with either convex or con-cave contours that might fit together in some visual way. I’m constantlyasking myself,“If I put this stone here and this other one right next to it, howwill it work? Should I pick another stone and use a different combination?”

Nature helps me in coming up with the answers, because the boulderspulled from the ground have broken off larger formations. I don’t try tomatch things up and reassemble them the way they were before they were“harvested,”but stones of certain types tend to break up in similar ways, mak-ing it much easier to find workable pairs in creating naturalistic arrange-ments. Working with these contours and fractures makes it possible to as-semble them in ways that avoid having one big stone next to another with


a foot and a half of grout between them.It’s a big job,but not a huge challenge: It’s really

just a matter of seeing how it all fits together.

careful movesWe faced this sort of puzzle-piecing task in

the project in Hanover, Pa., we started cover-ing again in the January issue (page 34) after along hiatus. The distinction, of course, is thatthe immense scale of this project had bouldersarrayed across a huge field rather than in acompact area.

This is the first project in which KevinFleming and I have selected and set stones to-gether on such a large scale, and we were keen-ly aware of the fact that this was a setting inwhich the rockwork was to play a central vi-sual role. In this case, in fact, the stoneworkwas to be one of the absolute defining featuresof the overall project.

Kevin graduated from college with a degree inlandscape architecture and understands the is-sues of balance,proportion and scale involved inselecting and placing big stones. Even thoughthis was his first huge project,he came up to speedquickly – and that was critical, because he’s ouron-site supervisor and sees things develop on aday-to-day basis in ways my own travel scheduledoesn’t permit.

As I’ve pointed out in previous columns on thisand other projects, reliable supervision is ab-solutely essential in projects on this level. Kevin’sdaily passion and dedication to the work havekept things rolling and are what makes our uniquepartnership work so well.

One of our first rock-related decisions on thisproject had to do with deciding how big a cranewe’d need. Cranes come in many sizes,obviously,

By David Tisherman

tisherman: detail 48

I’m constantly asking myself,

‘If I put this stone here and

this other one right next to it,

how will it work? Should I

pick another stone and use a

different combination?’

The Perfect Fit

T

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and the choice is made based on access,boulder size and the span of the workingplacement area.

In this case, we needed to set the cranein a space just beyond the top of the largewaterfall structure. From there, we’d setboulders as big as eight or nine feet acrossat distances up to 30 feet away from thecab, which led us to settle on a 120-tonmonster crane with huge outriggers andan enormous boom.

Once the crane was on site, we wereready to go.

on the groundKnowing which stones we wanted to

place in which positions, we had to pre-pare each spot to support its boulder sothe stone would be seen in the way andat the angle we wanted it to be seen. Thismeans having shims at the ready to fixthe stones in place, which in this case en-tailed making solid concrete modulesmeasuring anywhere from six to 12 inch-


Once each boulder has been selected and picked up by the crane, it is vigorously washed toclear away any debris that might interfere with subsequent bonding to the mortar bed. In lift-ing, we use nylon straps to avoid scarring the rocks’ surfaces.

es square (mostly sixes and eights).We poured our own blocks and let

them cure for as long as two weeks toget them way up there with respect topsi level. With stones this heavy, the lastthing you want is to set the stone inplace only to have the shims collapsefrom the weight, which in this casecould be in excess of six tons.

With the shims at hand, we’d crane inthe boulder and ease it into place, mak-ing small adjustments to get the anglesand exposures just right – and also con-sidering the grossly practical matter ofhow to get the straps off once the rock wasmaneuvered into position.

I don’t mean to give the impressionthat this is an automatic process oncestones are selected. In fact, stone-settingis a remarkably intuitive process basedon an appreciation of visual weight, scale,proportion, dimensionality and the dy-namics of line – all of which come intoplay as each and every stone moves into

place among all the others.In thinking all of this through, we de-

cide which side is going to be the top andwhich is to be mortared into place, howeach is going to lay, how each will relateto those around it, and how each addi-tional stone is going to be slung andknotted so that it will be lowered intojust the right place with the correct phys-ical orientation. At this point, the for-merly static jigsaw puzzle becomes anoutsized juggling act.

With stones this large, the process ofsimply getting them off the ground isan issue. Sometimes you have to slingone side of the stone, lift it partially offthe ground, then slide another strap inunderneath. It’s not unusual to take 20or 30 minutes just to make ready forlifting.

We always use nylon-strap rigging tosling the stones: I’ve never liked cables,because the weight of the stone pressingagainst cabling will leave marks that are

both obvious and unattractive.Occasionally, you’ll run into what hap-

pens when a rock drops. Fortunately,that happened just once on this project:We’d set the rock on a ledge in a precar-ious way and it fell, shattering a bunchof plumbing lines and forcing us to stop,make repairs, conduct new pressure testsand clean up the mess. Suffice it to saywe were not happy campers when it hap-pened.

into placeOnce a stone has been lifted, we use a

power washer to clean the entire stone –particularly the “bottom”surface that willbe placed in contact with the mortar thatwill hold it in place.

After we get the boulder cleaned up andare satisfied that it’s absorbing some mois-ture, the stone is swung slowly to the areain which it will be placed. Once in thevicinity, it is carefully lowered, twisted,nudged and basically finessed into final



position. We might put it down then liftthe whole thing back up to place addi-tional shims. We might raise just one sideand insert yet another shim to adjust itsposition just a bit.

All of this finessing has to be coupledwith consideration of the position of thestraps on the stones, always making surethey can be removed once the stone is fi-nally in the desired position. Every stone’sselection and placement is a little bit dif-ferent, which forces us to think severalsteps ahead in each case, starting with se-lection of the stone itself.

Most of the big boulders in this pro-ject will be set in and around the big wa-terfall structure that rises above theswimming pool. With this placement,they need to show well from two keyviewpoints.

First, there’s the view from below onthe pool deck, then there’s the view fromthe large, cantilevered footbridge thatwill span the bottom of the waterfallover the edge of the pool. From below,we had to be conscious of the way thatstones looked and how the water wouldbe moving over and around them in thecascade. The view is entirely differentfrom above: In addition to the rushingwater, those on the footbridge will seeplanters and a set of ponds flowing intothe falls.

Working around the planters andwithin the ponds was a critical elementfor both major focal points. In creat-ing the concrete substructure, we setup the basic scheme of the feature, butit wasn’t until the stones were actuallyplaced that the true aesthetics of thedesign emerged.

The interiors of these stilling ponds arelined with Pebble Tec (supplied by Pebble




In supervising the work,you need to watch, think,consider, re-consider and

in the end stand backand ask yourself, ‘Does

it really look good?’




Clear communication between the crane operator and the placement crew isessential to the success of this three-dimensional, multi-ton juggling act. In all,it took us four weeks to finesse all the boulders into place for the waterfall andsurrounding structures.

Technology of Scottsdale, Ariz.) and ac-cented by larger stones. In placing thelarger stones, we were making final deci-sions about how the water would flow upto and break over the various weirs. Frombeginning to end, it was a matter of plan-ning, on-site visualizing and extendedcrane sessions in which we fine-tunedand adjusted stone placements.

bottom upAs the work proceeded, we set stones

in the waterfall as well as on several keypoints on ledges, on the pool’s bondbeam, alongside the beach entry, at thebase of the grotto area and on the spa is-land. From start to finish, it took aboutfour long weeks – and Kevin’s constantsupervision was the key to success.

The masons were on hand through theentire process and had learned what wewere after by way of aesthetics from jobsthey’d done with us in the past. Theyknew how we wanted the rocks to look




We shim the boulders to balance them and gain just the right visual exposures. As the workprogresses and more and more pieces of the puzzle are placed, we can all see how the over-all composition is taking shape and visualize how the water will flow.

with respect to the mortar and the finishmaterial we applied between the stonesand shot gunite behind the stones to fillin the voids or, in other places, put cutledger stone in gaps between larger pieces.

A big point here is that we chose not torely on steel dowels to hold the stones inplace. These pieces were so big that grav-ity and the way they fit together was theprimary means of locking them where wewanted. Yes,the mortar and gunite will of-fer some support,but if you’ve got physicsworking against you, no steel or mason-ry will keep multi-ton boulders from shift-ing or even falling completely out of place.

It was very important from the time weselected the stone at the quarry to final po-sitioning on site that we had a backgroundin this kind of work and could couple itwith our knowledge of principles of nat-uralistic design – the abovementioned is-sues of balance, visual weight, scale, pro-portion,dimensionality and the dynamicsof line – as well as a clear sense of what we

were pursuing aesthetically. Working innatural stone on such a large scale can’t besaid to be a precise or even predictableprocess, but it is anything but random.

Variations in color of the stone, for ex-ample,came into play as a guiding princi-ple throughout the selection and place-ment processes. For this project, we usedmaterial that was multi-colored withcreams,greens,grays and blacks. Keepingthat palette in balance as we worked was asubtext for all we did in selecting and plac-ing stones based on their sizes and shapes.

Ultimately, this all folds back to the is-sue of supervision. I’ve seen projectswhere a field supervisor walks onto a jobsite, spends an hour or so consulting withthe masons and then takes off, leaving itto the craftspeople to make key design de-cisions. That’s not fair to anyone, as themasons and other laborers have theirhands and minds full enough with sim-ply doing the work correctly. I respectwhat they do, but to leave aesthetic deci-

sions about stone selection and placementup to them is to compromise the integri-ty of the project at exactly the worst time.

In supervising the work, you need towatch, think,consider, re-consider and inthe end stand back and ask yourself,“Doesit really look good?” If it doesn’t,you haveto have the strength of will to back up andtry something different – something thatsimply isn’t possible once the stones areset and mortared into place. If it does lookgood, however, it’s time to pick up andmove the project forward to a new stage,as we’ll see next time.



David Tisherman is the principal in twodesign/construction firms: David Tisherman’sVisuals of Manhattan Beach, Calif., andLiquid Design of Cherry Hill, N.J. He is alsoco-founder and principal instructor forGenesis 3, A Design Group, which offers ed-ucation aimed at top-of-the-line performancein aquatic design and construction.

WS

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When you execute com-plex projects for sophisticat-

ed clients, your ability to satis-fy them and their tastes by bringing

something different or interesting orunique to the table can make all the dif-

ference. As our firm has evolved, we’ve increas-ingly come to focus on identifying these compelling touches, whichfor us most often center on old-world influences that resonate, some-times deeply, with our clients.

I’ve always loved to travel and have spent extended periods in Asia,Latin America and Europe. At some point, it occurred to me that byworking not only with the principles of classical European and Asiangarden design, but also with authentic, imported materials and artobjects, the work would take on greater meaning and interest for me– and for my clients as well.

To that point, our firm had followed a path of influence that stillreflects itself in our replication of ancient stone-setting techniques.While traveling in China and Japan, I began spotting stone pieces andother objects we could use directly in our watershapes and gardensand started acquiring pieces for that purpose.

This step beyond evoking not only the style but actually using ele-ments of authentic design quickly turned into a powerful elementin our work. As we moved further in this direction, the channelsopened wider, the creative possibilities blossomed and we soon beganincorporating more and more of the materials and ideas that I’d en-countered in my travels.

Passion PlaysGetting involved in the importation of architectural elements, an-

cient materials and artifacts quickly became more than a diversionand in fact takes a tremendous amount of patience and persistence.On balance, however, it’s been worth the effort simply because it hasenabled us to meet our clients’ needs and desires more fully – and,selfishly, has allowed us to take our art to another level.

At this point, we bring in vast quantities and varieties of objects –everything from antique stone pavers, sculptured stone and othermasonry materials to metal and wooden art objects – so much, infact, that warehousing, keeping track of and selling what we have isnow a big part of our business.

Very quickly, in fact,our business effectively had two parts: On theone hand, we continued to design and install projects of our own

Daryl Toby has built his career on twopassions – one for world travel, theother for landscape design. Indeed,he spends months at a time overseas,seeking out fresh sources for antiqueconstruction materials and art objectsfor use in his firm’s own designs whileimporting them for others. Here, heshares in words and images the appeal of turning to the past to stokethe creative fires of contemporary watershape and landscape projects.

Objects ofDesire

By Daryl Toby

Balinese Visuals I discovered belongs on my first trip to

Indonesia – wonderful architectural pieces thatare found in various forms throughout Asia andother cultures. We often use these pieces fora symbolic connection to the importance of wa-ter in Asian gardening traditions. These objectscan be generations old and are often passeddown through families for water or food storage,but the advent of modern plumbing in parts of

around pieces of artwork or other inter-esting “specimens”we’d imported; on theother,we’d consult on other designers’pro-jects and assist them in finding pieces tofit into their plans.

On both sides, the key is listening welland using the resources we have at handto deliver results that clients really love.

In doing so, we’ve learned never toforce the issue – meaning not all of ourprojects include imported antiquities orarchitectural elements. In some cases,cost is an object in that importing stone


These granite pavers originated in an area ofChina inundated not long ago by the con-struction of the Three Gorges Dam. As seenreinstalled in this U.S. project, the material is stilltruly beautiful centuries after being quarried.

A Key PointNot all of the materials and objects

we cultivate in our travels are ancientor antique. As we’ve emphasized atseveral points, often the simple fact thata material or object comes from faraway is enough to give it the cachetand mystique our clients crave.

Where old objects and materials arenot available, we commission the craft-ing of new versions.

The antiquities we collect are pur-chased on the open market, and manyof the oldest materials are salvagedfrom areas under new development– as is the case in that part of Chinawhere the flooding of the valley be-hind the Three Gorges Dam made aspectacular volume of old materialsand objects available to us.

– D.T.

Indonesia in particular has led families to stopusing these pieces as originally intended.

For several years, belongs were client fa-vorites, but that has changed lately – a primeexample of how designs trends come andgo for no apparent reason.

But there’s something intangible aboutthese pieces that keeps me interested.They work brilliantly, for example, as ac-

cents along secluded pathways, in con-junction with other stone pieces or sculp-tures or as focal points in serenity gardenswhen surrounded by fragrant plants or or-namental grasses that rustle in the slight-est breeze.

Continued on page 36


mported AccentsIn this Asian-influenced water gar-

den, one of the key pieces is a gran-ite mortar that once was used togrind rice and other grains. We usedit to evoke the spirit of the basins andladles found in traditional Asian gar-dens – in this case as a sculptural

element that makes a specific cul-tural statement.

The project also includes a Kasuga-style Japanese lantern located near asmall waterfall as well as a white-gran-ite pagoda. (Not all of our pieces are an-tique, this pagoda being an example.)

These lantern and pagodas are cer-tainly familiar to us here in the “NewWorld,” but the authenticity and, manytimes, the age of these pieces takesthem beyond the status of cliché andturns them into powerful visual and cul-tural statements for our clients.

I

materials from Asia to the United Statesmay be prohibitively expensive.

Even more important, however, is thefact that not every design calls for suchtouches, nor is every client “right” forthem. Instead,we let our clients know thatimported authentic pieces are availableand discuss the possibilities if they’re in-terested. The most essential aspect is thatthe piece must naturally fit and neither beimposed upon the client nor the site. In

other words,any piece we use has to work.Fortunately for us, it’s amazing how

many do gravitate toward the idea: Agreat many become quite passionateabout the concept and see our pieces asdefining characteristics of their gardens.

In most situations,clients will see some-thing we’ve already imported and decideto use it. There are also times when clientshave distinct ideas about what they wantand we’ll take the time to go hunting for

them. That’s an expensive proposition,of course,and typically happens with larg-er-scale projects.

Reaching for AuthenticityDespite the tremendous variety of ma-

terials we can (and do) make available onthe supply side of the equation and amultifarious supply of clients and pro-jects on the demand side, we’ve found acouple of unifying themes that work


We installed lots of very old granite paverson this driveway and were surprised to finda single stone that had been carved withmarvelous natural imagery. It’s now a con-versation point for the owners – and a focalpoint in their love for the work we did.


ranslated InfluenceEven in projects where we aren’t using an-

cient or imported materials, we see that theinfluence of those objects inevitably extendsinto everything we do. We’ve also learnedthat pieces don’t have to be old to be specialand can instead get the job done simply byevoking the classics.

In traditional Asian stonework, you’ll oftensee artists sculpt and place stones in waysthat make architectural statements while re-taining the timeless quality of the stone ma-terial itself. In this case, our gifted designerJeff White designed this set of basalt stonesto accent a quiescent reflecting pond. Thematerial is from China and was producedthere from our design.

Reminiscent of the works of the greatsculptor/designer Isamu Noguchi, the threepieces are imbued with a modernistic senseof asymmetrical balance yet still retain theessence of the original stone forms. The ma-terial has been polished to an almost mir-ror finish to reflect the water and surround-ing greenery in complex, ever-changing andquite dramatic ways.

T

across the spectrum.First, antique pieces have qualities that

cannot be reproduced at will. Most ma-terials age and develop subtle patinas overtime and clearly show signs of wear andweathering. As talented as capable pro-ducers of faux materials may be thesedays, it is simply impossible to reproducethe random and subtle effects visible withnatural materials as a result of the passageof time.

Second and perhaps more significant,there’s something intangible yet com-pelling that comes with owning some-thing from a foreign land, particularly ifit has history to it or a story to tell. Eachobject we import,new or old,has its ownprovenance and tends to become a sourceof conversation and ongoing interest.

Thus, it’s not surprising that many ofour clients are already art and antiquecollectors. What we do is give them theopportunity to extend their interest toexterior spaces – a fact that brings themto design meetings with extraordinaryinterest and passion.

Sometimes,both we and our clients runinto real surprises. This past year, for ex-ample,we completed a major project thatincluded large quantities of antique paversfrom China. After installing the drivewaywe discovered a single paver that had beenplaced in the drive and had been etchedcenturies ago with images of waves, ser-pents and other animals. It’s now a cen-terpiece for the clients,who regale visitorswith tales of an anonymous craftspersonof an era long gone and a place far away.

A third component in the mix is thefact that, with their timelessness and of-ten antiquity, these objects inspire an ir-resistible sense of serenity and relaxation.Especially among clients with spiritualinclinations, this presence of authenticmaterials and objects in the garden trig-gers deep feelings of comfort and satis-faction that no reproduction ever could.

When combined with watershapesand their ability to lend aural delicacyand refinement to a serene setting, theeffects of these materials and objects areonly magnified and deepened – as theprojects highlighted on these pagesdemonstrate.


n the ChaseThis Michigan garden was developed for Gilda’s Club, an organization named for co-

median Gilda Radner and dedicated to assisting cancer patients and their families.We were asked to create a serenity garden and used a belong as a source for the

water and a stream that features jet-black river stone from Indonesia. Below the small fallis a bamboo “deer chaser” and a granite tetsubachi basin – a small waterfeature foundin many Japanese gardens that provides the soothing sound of moving water in addi-tion to intriguing visuals as the bamboo spout fills and empties.

In this case, the use of antique materials, the sounds of running water and calming pres-ence of the plantings creates a beautiful space for healing, relaxation and reflection.

I


Ideal for tall spaces with precious little floor space, rain curtains offerwatershapers a striking design option perfectly suited to a variety of retail,office and assorted other commercial spaces. As with any specializedeffect, says fountain designer and supplier Jon Mitovich, working with raincurtains calls for a good understanding of just what makes the systems tick– and what it takes to set them up to achieve the best possible results.

For many of us in the watershaping business, the de-sign and creation of fountains and water displays followsa predictable set of functional patterns. Given the tradi-tional tools of the trade and our repertoire of nozzles andspray apparatus, for example, we tend to fashion effectsand shapes from the ground up, literally throwing waterin the air in a more or less uncontrolled manner.

From a design standpoint, the problem with this tra-dition is that it eats up space like nobody’s business: Thepools needed to catch free-falling flows of any notewor-thy height must be large enough to capture water sub-ject to the effects of splash, wind-drift and overspray.The higher the spray, the larger must be the footprint ofthe pool to contain it adequately.

As a rule, these pools need to have diameters of twicethe height of the spray – by any measure a significantcontribution of expensive commercial real estate to thecreative effort at a time when property owners are mo-tivated to make every available square foot an incomeproducer.

As an alternative in this space race, watershapers havefound dry-deck or curbless fountains to be a great way tobring water effects into smaller settings with footprints thatcan serve multiple purposes. Another option that bearsconsideration is the rain curtain – a great addition to thewatershaper’s creative arsenal and a system that flows fromthe top down rather than from the ground up.

By Jon Mitovich

Foot PrintingRain curtains are a unique manipula-

tion of water based on the ancient Asianpractice of capturing falling rainwater byusing surface tension to run the waterdown chains, ropes and bamboo slits intosmall collecting pools, holding vessels orcisterns below.

Beyond being a great and convenientway for moving water from an uncon-trolled to a controlled state, perhaps thegreatest asset of the rain-curtain effect isthe minimal amount of space it takes upon a floor. Indeed, the traditional rulesof sizing fountain pools in proportion tospray height do not apply here: Curtainsin excess of 50 feet tall can be containedwithin a pool six feet wide or even less,leaving much more floor space availableto generate revenue.

In today’s commercial-property mar-kets, having this option available can beinvaluable. In just a small space, rain cur-tains offer all the aesthetic and psycho-logical benefits of water in motion, in-crease pedestrian and tenant interest,establish a facility’s visual identity andlend the property a competitive edge thatspace constraints might not otherwisepermit.

Rain curtains are particularly strikingwhere ceiling heights are substantial –as in the entryways of most office build-ings and a great many hotel/resort lob-bies, shopping malls and open stairwells.They are also best suited to indoor appli-cations, where wind currents aren’t ableto distort the delicate effect.

That delicacy is conjured with a rangeof products and hardware starting withthe material along which the water flows.This can be laced or stranded nylon orMylar – the former a heavy-gaugemonofilament “fishing line,” the latter athin, flat “shoelace”material. As the wa-ter flows onto the material, surface ten-sion forms it into beads that appear totravel – as if in slow motion as a resultof friction – down the length of the ma-terial to the collection pool below.

The key to the effect is introducing thewater onto the material in a controlledmanner. This requires a precision distri-bution manifold, usually fabricated ofbrass or stainless steel tube or pipe andoutfitted with a series of emitter nozzles


SMALL FOOTPRINTS:Although they can attain spec-tacular heights, the physicalspaces required to contain raincurtains can actually be quitesmall – a fact that makes thema welcome design option incommercial spaces whereevery square foot is precious.

(also in brass or stainless steel) fitted withgrippers that hold onto the strands.Emitter precision is of paramount im-portance: The orifice controls the amountof water flowing onto the strand while“guiding”it into position.

Down BelowThe other critical component of the

distribution system is the counterweightattached to the pool end of the strand. Itmust be heavy enough to pull the strandtaut and keep it from moving and pos-sibly twisting or tangling with its neigh-bors; at the same time, it can’t be so mas-sive that it puts a strain on either thestrand itself or on the grippers in the man-ifold.

Typically, these tensioning weights aretied or fastened together in series after in-stallation and strand adjustment to keepthe strands from becoming twisted. Theemitters themselves are generally spacedon 1- to 1-1/2-inch centers: Any closerand static electricity will make the strandstend to stick together when they’re dry,while surface tension will impart the sameclumping urge when they’re wet.

Beyond those basic performance re-quirements, rain curtains are a model offlexibility: Heights, shapes and spans arelimited only by available space, while themanifolds can take on virtually anygeometry, from circles, arcs or ovals tosquares, rectangles, crosses, tees or trian-gles. Multiple manifolds can be used as


SCULPTURAL SENSE: The fact that rain-curtain manifolds can be fabricated into just aboutany imaginable shape with just about any sort of support structure can make them a com-pelling, contemporary design accent all on their own – all ready for enhancement by a slytrickle of water.

well, and emitter placements can be stag-gered to add depth and dimension to thecurtain effect. In addition, strand anglescan be set up to 20 degrees off the verti-cal before gravity overcomes surface ten-sion and the water beads will begin drop-ping off the strands.

Modern strand emitters are also moreefficient than were those available in thepast. In fact, there were so many prob-lems with early emitters that the first raincurtains were set up to use glycerin, asweet, syrupy hygroscopic tri-hydroxy al-cohol used as a solvent and plasticizer, asthe liquid medium in motion.

This high-viscosity material flowedmore slowly than water and had the vi-sual advantage of forming larger droplets,but it also had a nasty tendency to stainsurrounding surfaces, was slightly toxicand had mild corrosive properties.Furthermore, liquid traveling through theatmosphere is something of a magnet forairborne particles, and glycerin tended tobecome a sticky mess after a while as wellas a maintenance headache.

Pure, clean water poses none of thesedrawbacks and has therefore claimed itsrightful place as the medium of choice forrain curtains. The main treatment ne-cessity is a high-quality filtration system,which helps by minimizing the risk ofclogging the emitters and preventing hit-or-miss operation of the rain curtain.

The actual water flow is relatively slight,depending upon the number of strands.The rule of thumb is allowance of a flowrate of 0.33 gallons per minute per strandvia an appropriately sized pump and filter– thus,a rain curtain with 100 strands willrequire a flow rate of 33 gpm. The heightof the rain curtain (that is,the length of thestrands) does not change the flow re-quirement, although it does increase thetotal volume of water in the system.

Going with the FlowThe sight of water flowing down a rain

curtain is remarkably compelling on itsown, but the effect can be enhanced stillfurther through use of submersible foun-tain lighting aimed up from the collec-tion pool.

The light reflects off the water beadsand wet strand material to create a shim-mering effect and multiplies the observ-


Variations on a ThemeThe use of nylon or Mylar line or lace to run water from the top to the bottom of a

water curtain is just one option available to watershapers working in tight spaces.Other options include panes or sheets of glass, acrylic or plexiglass, either smooth ortextured, to handle the water flow from top-mounted emitters.

As water flows down these sheets, the influences of surface tension and friction tendto cause the water to gather or “scallop” on its way to the collection pool. Combinedwith submersible lighting (placed to backlight the sheet), the design possibilities arelimited only by the watershaper’s imagination.

– J.M.

OUTDOORS, TOO: Although outdoor applications for rain curtains are less common than areindoor installations, they can be used with wonderful results under the right conditions –as in this sheltered entryway, where the short rain curtain lends a sense of motion and soundto its setting.

Acrylic and glass panels can be used to set up variations on the rain-curtain effect – as seenhere, where surface tension and friction make the water scallop and flow irregularly down sur-faces that show well by day and, backlit, by night.

er’s ability to enjoy the kinetics of the wa-tershape. A combination of spot andflood lights spaced at three-foot intervalsworks best in most applications,with themix and wattage depending upon theheight of the curtain.

Beyond aesthetics and installation, ofcourse, operation and maintenance areimportant to the impression the systemmakes, particularly with its owners. Theusual rules apply: Before start-up, thepool must be clean and filled with freshwater, with all pipelines flushed clean of

any construction debris. Water qualityneeds to be monitored and managed tomaintain that cleanliness.

The main challenge to rain-curtain sys-tems comes in the form of hard-waterscaling that can take its toll on emittersand strands over time. As a result, min-eral de-scaling devices may need to be in-corporated into the system or, in extremecases, water softeners or reverse-osmosispurifiers. To promote long strand life, theuse of sanitizing chemicals should beavoided; instead, ozone or ultra-violet

light systems should be used.Modern technology and precision fab-

rication have made an ancient and emi-nently practical design idea accessible intoday’s design marketplace and allow thedesigner to bring a strikingly contempo-rary feel to any setting. The greatest post-installation pleasure comes in watchingvisitors as they experience the grace andbeauty of the effect from vantage pointsjust a few feet removed from the effect –a reaction appreciated by watershapersand property owners alike.


SUBLIME ELEGANCE:There’s a definite visual

appeal to rain curtains ofall heights, shapes and

configurations – a differ-ent sort of drama from

that of a bottom-up foun-tain, but certainly a

source of pleasing soundsand an arresting sense

of motion.


ackwash valves are simple in con-cept: They reverse the flow of water

through a filter and, in so doing,dislodgedirt and debris that has built up on thesurface of and in the filter medium.

This procedure has a couple of key ben-efits in both sand and diatomaceous-earthfilters: First, it improves filter performanceby breaking up and flushing out the near-solid cakes of dirt and oil particles that buildup in the media over time. Second,it pro-longs filter cycles and extends the time be-tween major (and messy) cleanings. Third,because they minimize those invasive clean-ings,backwashing helps to extend the ser-vice lives of a filter’s internal components.

For all that, I keep seeing systems in thefield in which backwash valves are notproperly specified or no provisions havebeen made for routine backwashing – thatis, systems in which there’s no backwashvalve to divert the flow and initiate thecleaning process. And these devices aren’tparticularly complex or expensive,whichleads me to believe there’s a lack of infor-

mation about the value of these valves, agap we’ll begin to fill here.

REVERSING THE FLOW Some watershape systems are set up

with cartridge filters that don’t requirebackwashing, but a good portion of fil-tration systems – especially those forswimming pools, spas,and waterfeatures– use either sand or diatomaceous earth(D.E.) to rid the water of particulates.

Setting up these systems for properbackwashing isn’t the most complicatedprocedure or the sexiest topic going, butit really does cut to the heart of proper fil-tration and water quality. In fact, I’d saythe presence of backwashing capability iscrucial to the long-term enjoyment andsustainability of any watershape system.

As is the case with most simple-seem-ing topics, there is, of course, more tobackwashing and backwash valves thanmeets the eye.

Consider what happens inside a filterwhen the system is in backwash mode.

In a D.E. filter, the water flows backwardsthrough the filter grids, thereby blowingthe caked filter medium and all the de-bris imbedded in it from the polyester-fiber/nylon-mesh grids. The water con-taining all the dirt particles, oil, debris,and caked diatomaceous earth flows towaste via a P-trap, a drain system or areclamation/backwash tank.

In a sand filter, the flow is similarly re-versed: Instead of the water flowing down-ward through the sand bed, it comes upfrom the bottom of the filter and effectivelychurns the top few inches of the sand bedup into solution. Dirt is removed whenthe water flows up and out of the filter bodythrough the diffuser at the top of the tank.The water is disposed of via the optionsdescribed just above for a D.E filter.

Again, that’s elegant and simple, butthere are a couple of key points that bearconsideration in greater detail.

For starters, backwashing lengthens fil-ter cycles, that is, the time between seri-ous cleanings. As we all should know,emp-

Backwash valves are the unsung he-roes of many a fine hydraulic system.Seldom considered other than whenin use, these handy devices simplify fil-ter maintenance, significantly extendfilter cycles and even serve to stretchthe service lives of a filter’s internal com-ponents. Ensuring that level of reli-able performance, says hydraulics ex-pert Steve Gutai, is a matter ofunderstanding the role these valvesplay and selecting the right one forthe given application.

BackwashingBasics

By Steve Gutai

H y d r a u l i c F u n d a m e n t a l s

B


tying and recharging D.E. filters is a laborious anddirty job that involves opening the tank, removingand cleaning the grids – then reassembling andrecharging the system with D.E. Removing sandfrom a sand filter is even worse,a nasty task that re-quires not only disassembling the filter but also scoop-ing out the muck and sand by hand in most cases.

In addition, backwashing not only enables themedia in a D.E. filter to last longer, it also lengthensthe service life of the grids and internal componentssimply by reducing handling and allowing the fil-ter to operate at lower pressures. For sand filters,backwashing also helps prevent the solidification ofthe surface of the sand bed and can thereby length-en the span between major cleanings by several years.

The ultimate benefit in both cases is proper fil-tration and proper flow throughout the system,which can have a huge impact on a range of oth-er issues such as the proper functioning of heatersand sanitization systems as well as the overall per-formance of spa jets, fountains, waterfalls or in-teractive waterfeatures.

NAMING NAMESThere are several types of backwash valves on

the market these days, and each has its own set ofcharacteristics,advantages,disadvantages and prop-er applications. For all of their differences, how-ever, all backwash valves have at a minimum thesame five-port setup: filter inlet and outlet; pumpdischarge to valve inlet; valve outlet port to returncirculation; and port to waste.

As you’ll see in the summary of options below,the way those five connections are accommodat-ed differs widely from valve to valve.w Slide or push-pull valves: These are the least

expensive and most often used backwash valveson the market. Sometimes referred to as piston-style valves, they are essentially two-position de-vices that run in either filtration mode or back-wash mode.

Slide valves feature a simple cylinder – a shaftwith two plungers that move through the internalpart of the valve body. The plumbing ports in andout of the valve are positioned so that sliding theshaft will redirect the flow of the water.

In a typical D.E. system application, pushing theshaft all the way down makes the water flow in fil-tration mode. Pulling it back shifts the flow into back-wash mode,sending the water coming out of the fil-ter to waste. In a sand filter,where the flow pattern isthe exact opposite of a D.E. filter’s, the positions arereversed. (Helpfully,most slide valves are marked toindicate which positions work for which filter type.)

Slide backwash valves are typically made of PVCor ABS plastic material. Most are glued to a set

D.E. filter in filtration mode

D.E. filter in backwash mode

Heater

Heater

Waste

Waste

Pump

Pump

Pool

Handle down

Handle up

Pool

Filter

Filter

of unions that are ultimately mountedonto the side of the filter tank,which makesthem easy to service and replace as need-ed. They cannot be automated.

These valves are in common use in theSunbelt (other than Florida,where cartridgefilters dominate),but they are seldom usedin regions where watershapes must be win-terized. In these places, multi-port back-wash valves are generally used because ofthe additional benefits they can provide.w Multi-port valves: These valves of-

fer a range of functions and configura-tions that go well beyond backwashing,offering a versatility that is highly desir-able for many applications. In addition,multi-port valves are self-draining, whichmakes them suited for use in cold climates.

Typically made of ABS plastic and fittedwith threaded socket connections thatmake installation, removal, repair and re-placement convenient, multi-port valvesare also commonly referred to as dial valvesbecause they look like sundials on the in-side, with compartments divided into sixor seven wedge-shaped slices. Water is sentin various,distinct directions through thesecompartments by a rotating diverter as-sembly that moves into different positionsover a spider gasket.

Multi-port valves offer more possiblevalve positions than do slide valves, in-cluding positions for filtration and back-washing; a waste mode that enables waterto be pumped directly to waste withoutpassing through the filter; a closed modethat cuts off all flow through the valve; anda rinse mode, which allows water to flowto waste while the system is in the filtra-tion mode – thereby keeping cloudy wa-ter inside the filter from re-entering a wa-tershape after backwashing.

Multi-port valves also have a re-circula-tion mode,which is basically a bypass thatallows for water circulation without anyflow through the filter. In addition, somehave a winterization mode that allows thevalve to drain itself.

These valves come in two basic types: Thefirst is a top-mounted style most often seenon smaller sand filters (30 inches or less).The second is a side-mounted style used onlarger systems (30 inches and up). The keydifference between the two is the way the fil-ter’s internal plumbing interfaces with thebackwash valve connections.


Sand filter in filtration mode

Sand filter in backwash mode

Heater

Heater

Waste

Waste

Pump

Pump

Pool

Handle up

Handle down

Pool

Filter

Filter

With a top-mounted valve the filter dif-fuser is part of the valve and the water en-ters the valve and is distributed from thevalve itself. By contrast, with a side-mounted multi-port valve, the valve sendswater to a diffuser that is integrated intothe sand filter’s tank. Despite these phys-ical differences, water flows to the sandbed in exactly the same way with bothvalve types.

For the most part,side-mounted multi-port valves provide a second option to slidevalves because the former are more versa-tile and have the benefit of being sidemounted. Moreover, multi-port valves –especially of the side-mounted variety – areeasily automated using specialized valve-actuator mechanisms.

w Full-flow valves: These valves havecompletely different designs than mul-ti-port and slide valves.They have two di-verter gates that are attached to one com-mon shaft.When the shaft is rotated,bothdiverter gates are rotated.They direct wa-ter through the same sets of ports as doother backwash valves,but with much lesspressure drop as the water flows throughthe valve.

When water flows through a slide ormulti-port valve, it must make at least two90-degree turns or travel through differ-ent chambers, resulting in additional fric-tion loss within the system. By contrast,full-flow valves divert the water flow whileadding virtually no extra resistance –something they accomplish because the

water flows straight through the valve andthere are no bends or turns to contendwith in the filtration mode of operation.

This makes these valves particularlyvaluable in systems that require preciseflows and higher pressures, such as is thecase with in-floor cleaning systems. Thesevalves are always side-mounted on filtertanks and may be used with either sandor D.E. systems. They can be automated,but only one company currently offersfull-flow valves with this capability.w Rotary valves: Valves in this fourth

category are used only with D.E. filtersand, unlike the valves discussed above,are mounted on the bottoms of the tanksand can be used for the purpose of back-washing.


Outlet

D.E. filter in filtration mode

D.E. filter in backwash mode

Inlet

Outlet

Sand filter in filtration mode

Inlet

Outlet

Inlet

Waste

Sand filter in backwash mode

Outlet

Inlet

Waste


These two-position valves are integrated into the body of the fil-ter tank (usually in older stainless steel models) and are operated bya handle that moves an internal rotor assembly. They cannot be au-tomated.

These valves have been in reliable service for many,many years andare still in use in some areas, particularly southern California. Theirbiggest drawback is the fact that you have to take apart the entire fil-ter to access the valve for service and repairs. With a big tank, thatmeans crawling into the filter itself to reach the valve.w Tandem-filter piping kits: These are basically series of pipes

and butterfly valves that form manifold structures used toconnect large sand filters in series. These arrays are typi-cally found on large commercial projects that require spe-cial backwash valve systems designed for the specific typesand numbers of filters.

These systems enable operators to take individual fil-ters off-line for backwashing or service while the othersare still running, thus preventing facility downtime. Thereare a variety of permutations and possibilities with thesecomplex manifold systems that are specific to each pro-ject. Many of these systems are automated.

DOWN TO CHOICESIn evaluating what sort of backwash valve system should

be used for a specific application, a watershaper needs toweigh all sorts of details, including filter type,pressure drop,whether the system will be automated or not, physical ac-cess to the valve and whether one or more filters will be used.

From a systems standpoint, however, the largest designconsideration has to do with pressure drop. You need toknow what degree of pressure drop you will experiencewith each possible backwash valve and come up with anoverall system that works with the greatest efficiency andoptimal performance.

There are a few helpful rules of thumb. You know, for

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ATTENTION ALL READERS!

Large sand filters piped in series.

example, that most multi-port backwashvalves experience the highest level of pres-sure drop,so you won’t spend much timeconsidering them for a pool with an in-floor cleaning system. In that sort of ap-plication, slide valves or full-flow valvesare the best choices.

The other big question has to do withwhich operational modes are needed forthe given project. In the northeast, wherepools are winterized and all sorts ofleaves and debris can accumulate in thewater, valves that have bypass positionsand enable water to be directed to wastewithout flowing through the filter are abig plus. In warm weather areas, yougenerally won’t need winterizing or by-pass modes.

Cost can be a factor as well. Simple slidevalves are far less expensive than multi-port or full-flow valves – perfect forstraightforward backyard pools or spas,but generally less advisable for compli-cated projects where multi-port or full-flow valves may be the answer.

The final consideration is serviceabili-ty. If you look at all of these valves, theslide valve is by far the easiest to service,with removal of just one nut allowing re-moval of the plunger and most repairs in-volving little more than replacement of afew O-rings. Multi-port valves are equal-ly accessible,but they are much harder towork on because there are usually eightto ten bolts to remove on the top plate ofthe valve, and the spider gaskets can betricky to reinstall because of their com-plex web shapes.Full-flow valves are easyto access and repair, so much so that somecome with lifetime warrantees, while ro-tary valves, as mentioned above, can be aservice challenge.

In the short run, the type of backwashvalve you choose may not be the most crit-ical or thought-provoking of all the deci-sions you’ll make about a hydraulic sys-tem. But if you make the effort, do somehomework and settle on just the right sys-tem,it’ll be one decision that won’t requireany second-guessing down the line.



Clear SightIn addition to backwash valves, there are

a couple of other components that can becrucial to the backwashing process.

The first is a simple sight glass – noth-ing more than a small window that allowsthe operator to look at the water flowingwithin the filter tank to see when it’s clearand backwashing can be stopped. Theseare found on many multi-port and tandemfilter piping kits.

Reclamation or separation tanks offer an-other clear-water assist. They look like smallfilters, but they have a polyester-cloth sackon the inside that captures debris from thebackwash effluent and sends the water backinto the circulation system rather than towaste. These systems are used most of-ten in conjunction with D.E. filters in drought-prone areas where water conservation is akey issue.

– S.G.

Contemporary

52


One of the great things about working with dif-ferent architects and designers the way we do isthat, as builders of pools, spas and other water-shapes, we enjoy opportunities to work across abroad range of design styles and sensibilities.

In this instance, we’re focusing on one of ourfavorite Southern California architects, MarkSinger. He’s known regionally for crisp, clean,minimalist designs and is well regarded for hiswork on breathtaking lots along the coast inLaguna Beach, Newport Beach and other well-heeled cities overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Toour good fortune, most of his projects includepools, spas, courtyard waterfeatures, outdoorsculptures and other amenities that enhance andextend his contemporary designs.

Our most recent project with Singer was com-pleted in the summer of 2004 at an older home inthe beautiful beach community of Corona delMar. The house itself was not originally designedby Singer, but it had been remodeled by him sev-eral times in the years since. In fact, so much hasbeen done at this point that it’s practically im-possible to distinguish this residence from pro-jects he has pursued from the ground up.

Completing a SceneThe homeowner is a wealthy land developer, a

self-made man and a major fan of Singer’s whohas collaborated with the architect on three ma-jor renovations that have completely transformedhis home.

As with all of Singer’s work, the house nowfeatures a great deal of glass, metal and poured-in-place concrete characterized by tremendoussensitivity to line, space and light throughout.The last vestige of the original construction wasthe pool – a drab, uninspiring lazy-dogleg-shaped vessel that really didn’t go very well withthe remodeled home.

It was located in a courtyard that opened over asweeping ocean view and occupied a space thatis now a focal point from several key areas inside

Known as specialists when it comes to executing

the designs of top-flight architects and landscape

architects throughout Southern California, pool

builders Martha and Randy Beard get involved in a

wide range of fascinating projects in some of the

region’s most exclusive enclaves. Here, they discuss

their work on the watershapes of architect Mark

Singer, who’s built a sterling reputation by creating

contemporary homes with stark, dramatic geometries.

SensibilitiesBy Martha & Randy Beard

the home. Singer knew exactly what hewanted to do with the courtyard,and thehomeowner was extremely enthusiasticwhen it came to allowing him to completethe scene with a brand new pool and spa.

We were fortunate enough to be referredto the homeowner as the recommendedcontractor. As is true of many of the de-signers whose work we’ve had the pleasureof executing, Singer has a wonderful wayof maintaining control over the work whilesimultaneously hearing what we have tosay and allowing us the freedom to buildwatershapes based on our experience. He’sextremely energetic about discussing de-tails and weighing alternative approaches– truly a nice guy and always accessible,re-sponsive and someone who makes col-laboration a real pleasure.

Of all the projects we’ve done withSinger, this one is certainly among our fa-vorites – absolutely spectacular and morethan worthy of its stunning setting. Therectilinear pool has a large notch at oneend that was included to expand the deckby a few critical square feet and has asquare, raised spa at one end as well as afantastic stone wall running the length ofone entire side.

The wall rises 30 inches above the sur-face of the water and is topped by a 24-inch-wide planter. The entire span is fin-ished in a stacked Irish Linen stone witha beautiful, ultra-white coloring and achunky,meaty texture. The stone extendsdown past the waterline, reaching all theway to the floor of the pool. The idea wasto create a sense that one side of the poolwas an artifact of a quarry, setting up anintriguing juxtaposition of its rugged lookwith the stark, crisp modernity that de-fines the rest of the environment.

The other three sides of the pool’sperimeter are edged with a razor-sharpperimeter overflow system that drops overa low, raised bond beam capped in lime-stone and flows into a narrow gap at thebase. The raised part of the wall startswhere the spa leaves off on one side andis integrated into a wall that extends fromthe front of the house. There’s also a float-ing pad that enables bathers to step upinto the spa.

The raised wall and the perimeter over-flow are all integrated into a complexbond beam detail engineered for the pro-


The old pool might have been appropriate for the house as originally built, but by the timeMark Singer was through with the home’s renovation, the curved edges and soft overall ap-pearance cried out for attention. Two key features of the new design include a stacked ledgerwall extending all the way to the floor of the pool along the back wall and repositioning thespa, which was moved from one end of the vessel to the other.


Singer’s renovation includ-ed the gateway allowingdirect access to the poolfrom the front yard. Theoffset glass panels are a visual delight, and thosewho approach are treatedto a gorgeous waterfeaturejust to the right of the frost-ed opening. The stone ma-terials used in the waterfallare picked up in the pooland spa and the house it-self, integrating the lookson both sides of the gate.

55

ject by Ron Lacher of Pool Engineering(Anaheim, Calif.). He also handled theoverall structural design.

A New StartWe began our work by demolishing the

old pool and hauling it away like a badmemory. We over-excavated the site by afair measure to enable us to form the poolwith freestanding-panel construction.

The installation itself was all verystraightforward in most respects, includ-ing the slot-overflow system that poursinto a small gutter concealed by can-tilevered concrete decking. The two-inchdrop gives the impression that the watermysteriously disappears right into thedeck. The main challenge we had here waswith the hydraulics,as there was no roomat all for surge capacity in the overflow sys-tem – an issue resolved by installing a bigsurge tank just below the equipment area.

We formed the gutter as part of thebond beam, which meant that our form-ing work was crucial to hydraulic per-formance. We plumbed the trough witha six-inch equalization line that flows viagravity into a six-inch trunk line thatflows at an easy two-percent grade intothe surge tank.

The edges for the overflow had to bedead on,of course, to ensure an even flowover the edge,but the limestone caps alsohad to line up with a decorative grid pat-tern that extends into the concrete deck-ing beyond. This required some precisepreplanning and careful execution, andthe result is that the pool’s top-side struc-ture aligns perfectly with and is fully in-tegrated into the surrounding hardscape.The decking is in a Sedona buff color thatblends nicely with both the limestone cop-ing and the stone ledger on the back wall.

Settling on the pool’s interior finish wasa lengthy process that involved Singer andthe homeowner in several rounds of dis-cussion. What finally emerged is a light,smoky-gray plaster with Colorquartz ag-gregate provided by 3M (St.Paul,Minn.).It lends a tranquil, light-blue tone to thewater that makes it easy to see that thestacked-stone detail extends all the wayto the pool’s floor.

The stone wall itself is rigged with asubtle water effect that bleeds out of aseries of hidden Custom Cascades weirs


The view from the repositioned spa and adjacent deck allows those enjoying a goodsoak or just relaxing by the spa a perfect perspective on the rising planes of the home’sarchitecture. The water sheeting over all those stone edges lends a sparkling qualityto the surfaces while adding gentle sounds to the overall environment.

at the other to accommodate some extradecking. The width at the deep end wasintended for vigorous activity by thehomeowner’s teenage children.

A Tight SetWhile the pool itself laid out nicely in

the available space,the equipment pad wasanother matter. Confined to a six-by-six-foot space, it made us unusually consciousof layout and equipment selection.

In all, there are five WhisperFlo pumps(Pentair Pool Products, Sanford, N.C.)and dual diatomaceous-earth filters(Hayward Pool Products,Elizabeth,N.J.)– one for the edge effect, the other for themain circulation/heating system. All ofthe pumps are plumbed with dual suc-tion lines to prevent any chance of suc-tion entrapment.

The main circulation system is designedfor a six- hour turnover. Everything runson two-inch (or larger) plumbing sizes tomaximize hydraulic efficiency. We actu-ally downsized the perimeter-overflowpump because the leveling is so tight that

(supplied by Oreq Corp. of Temecula,Calif.) that send small flows of waterdown the entire face of the wall. Thesystem runs off of a four-inch feed linethat connects to multiple manifolds hid-den beneath the wall’s capstones, whichnot only hides the water source, but alsogives the impression that entire wall ismade of the ledger stone. When the wa-ter wall is not operating, the well-shel-tered pool is glassy and reflective; withthe flow activated, the surface becomesarticulated and textured.

Atop the wall is the abovementionedplanter, which contains a wide variety ofbeautiful plants including a number ofspectacular bromeliads. The wall runsthe entire 35-foot length of the pool andextends beyond it, terminating at the wallthat conceals the equipment pad. It’sall part of the bond-beam detail andemerges from the pool at a slight angleto accentuate the quarry effect.

The pool has a depth extending fromthree-and-a-half to eight feet. It is 25 feetwide at one end,narrowing to 15 feet wide

Text continues on page 60


Monolithic Reflections

Another of our favorite Mark Singer projects is an extreme-high-end residencein the Emerald Bay neighborhood of Laguna Beach, Calif. This project offers tes-timony to the power of visual simplicity, and its simple, three-sided perimeter-over-flow pool – along with a pedestal for the sculpture set on one end – is part and par-cel of a fully integrated scene.

The pool is finished with jet-black Pebble Tec (Pebble Technology, Scottsdale,Ariz.) with an Italian porcelain tile laid over the eight-inch raised bond beam.The overflow system spills into a grated trough filled with smooth, black riverrocks and pebbles.

Unlike the pool described in the accompanying article, this spectacularly inky poolwas designed as an integral part of the home’s overall design. Massive glass-pan-el walls surround the pool on two sides, providing vistas of the water from tower-ing interior rooms – something you might expect to see with an art museum ratherthan with a private residence.

Although it is fairly large at 36 feet long by 18 feet wide (with a maximum depthof six feet), the dark watershape looks much more like a reflecting pond than aswimming pool. Indeed, the homeowners have told us that many of their guestsare surprised to find out that it is actually a swimming pool.

The architecture of the home is signature Mark Singer, with a stark, rectilineardesign and lots of glass, metal and poured-in-place concrete. The monolithic poolserves as its perfect complement, providing dramatic reflections from a range offocal points around the pool’s perimeter.

– M. & R.B

The breathtaking simplicity of this Mark Singer de-sign is what makes it so powerful. It also demon-strates an advantage he had in this case comparedto the project discussed in the accompanying feature: Here, he designed the entire compositionfrom the ground up instead of working through aseries of renovations and it shows in the completeintegration of line and detail.

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

der

Ser

vice

Nu

mb

er

33 3M Colorquartz (pg. 16)(800) 447-2914 www.3m.com/pools

44 A & B Aluminum and Brass Foundry (pg. 63)(800) 733-4995 www.abfoundryonline.com

95 Acu-Trol (pg. 15)(800) 273-4667 www.acu-trol.com

6 Advanced Aquaculture Systems (pg. 51)(813) 653-2823 www.advancedaquaculture.com/landscape

AguaFina Gardens & Imports (pg. 14)(248) 738-0500 www.aguafina.com

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

27 Color Match Pool Fittings (pg. 9)(714) 779-5221 www.poolfittings.com

8 Cover-Pools (pg. 67)(800) 447-2838 www.coverpools.com

11 Coverstar (pg. 12)(800) 617-7283 www.coverstar.com

2 DEL Ozone (pg. 17)(800) 676-1335 www.delozone.com

Delta Ultraviolet (pg. 30)(866) 889-8765 www.deltauv.com

46 Emperor Aquatics (pg. 8)(610) 970-0440 www.emperoraquatics.com

Fascut Industries (pg. 14)(608) 643-6678 www.fascut.com

122 Firestone Building Products (pg. 22)(800) 428-4442 www.firestonebpco.com

16 Genesis 3 Schools (pg. 23)(877) 513-5800 www.genesis3.com

Gilderfluke & Co. (pg. 14)(800) 776-5972 www.gilderfluke.com

74 Great American Waterfall Co. (pg. 26)(888) 683-0042 www.gawcinc.com

101 Horticopia (pg. 20)(800) 560-6186 www.horticopia.com

96 Jandy (Water Pik Technologies) (pg. 68)(800) 227-1442 www.jandy.com

55 Kim Lighting (pg. 19)(626) 968-5666 www.kimlighting.com

90 Lehigh White Cement (pg. 39)(800) 523-5488 www.lehighwhitecement.com

63 Macalite Equipment (pg. 29)(877) 622-2548 www.macaliteequipment.com

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

89 NEC 2005 (pg. 31)(866) 276-2748 http://ws.nec2005.org

38 NSPI Region 3 (pg. 59)(800) 548-6774 www.nspiregion3.org

58 PEM Fountains (pg. 11)(800) 387-3600 www.pemfountain.ca

45 PoolFog (pg. 28)(866) 766-5364 www.poolfog.com

78 Quaker Plastic (pg. 20)(717) 285-4571 www.quakerplastic.com

51 Regal Plastics (pg. 63)(800) 444-7755 www.regalplastics.com

35 Spray Force Mfg. (pg. 13)(800) 824-8490 www.sprayforce.com

42 Standard Bronze (pg. 31)(201) 339-1351

76 Stepstone (pg. 26)(800) 572-9029 www.stepstoneinc.com

39 System Dynamics (pg. 27)(800) 844-8514

81 Tecno Industries (pg. 28)(800) 570-9974 www.tecnobrick.com

131 TXI Riverside Cement (pg. 30)(909) 635-1824 www.txi.com

Vicenza Stone Sculptures (pg. 30)(39) 0444-928499 (in Italy) www.vicenzastone.com

100 Vortex Aquatic Structures (pg. 21)(877) 586-7839 www.vortex-intl.com

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

135 Gothicstone Tile Gallery (pg. 62)136 DEL Ozone (pg. 62)137 Automated Fire & Water Effects (pg. 62)138 Sergio Furnari Collection (pg. 62)139 Techlight (pg. 62)140 Current Systems (pg. 62) 141 Tensar Earth Technologies (pg. 62)142 Firestone Building Products (pg. 62)143 American Specialty Glass (pg. 63)144 Sun Systems (pg. 63)145 Design Concepts Mfg. (pg. 63)146 Ravini USA (pg. 63)147 Pentair Pool Products (pg. 64)148 Whitewater West (pg. 64)149 ClearWater Tech (pg. 64)150 Sigma Two Industries (pg. 64)151 Siloam Stone (pg. 64)152 Tuscan Imports (pg. 64) 153 Emperor Aquatics (pg. 64)154 Rafco Products (pg. 64)155 Floating Island Int’l (pg. 65)156 Stegmeier (pg. 65) 157 Envirorock (pg. 65)158 ShadeScapes USA (pg. 65)159 Ecosphere Associates (pg. 65)160 Otterbine Barebo (pg. 65) 161 Asindo California (pg. 65)162 Aqua Products (pg. 65)

Of Interest Index:


Hamilton-Steele Outdoor Accents,Houston, TX

Hamilton-Steele Outdoor Accents,Houston, TX

Stone Pools,McKinney, TXStone Pools,McKinney, TX

Watts Pools,Houston, TXWatts Pools,Houston, TX

Shangri-La Designs,The Woodlands, TXShangri-La Designs,The Woodlands, TX

Star Pools,Houston, TXStar Pools,Houston, TX

the entire effect runs on less than 100 gal-lons per minute.

The square spa measures seven by sev-en feet and also features a perimeter over-flow on two sides – one flowing to thetrough, the other into the pool. It has 17jets in all, placed in accordance with thehomeowner’s preferences. We avoidedspecialty therapy jets to avoid disruptingthe appearance of the interior finish.

With contemporary designs such as thisone, the key to success is paying attentionto the elegant simplicity of the details.This project (and the one described in thesidebar on page 57) demonstrate how ba-sic, rectilinear pools with carefully select-ed design elements have a power andbeauty you don’t often see, even in moreelaborate projects.

When a designer with Singer’s defttouch and flair for visual drama is on thecase, the results are truly memorable –and a builder’s delight.


The greenery reaching over the weeping wall toward the pool lends a special quality tothe composition, working with the texture of the stonework to soften hard edges andsurfaces without impinging on the overall system of lines at work in the design. It’s agreat space, and working with Mark Singer’s design was a satisfying pleasure.

Continued from page 56

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r February 1999 (Vol. 1, No. 1)Tisherman on working in difficult soils; White onedge treatments; Lacher on expansive soils.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. 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.r September 2000 (Vol. 2, No. 7)Davitt on designing for small spaces; Altvater onthe importance of aeration; Hetzner on sheet falls.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 onupscale 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.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.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 onprotecting stone; Kaiseron grand-scale watershapes.r March 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 3)Morris on kinetic sculpture; Cattano on collabo-ration; Hebdon on water and settings for healing.r April 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 4)Hayes on water, art and spirituality; Gutai on con-crete-spa jets; Gregory on water and high art. r May 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 5)Rowley on main-drain safety; Ewen on purpose-ful restoration; Dallonson high-wire watershaping.r June 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 6)Dallons on a hilltop treasure; Mitovich on the D-Day Memorial; Slawson on Japanese inspiration.r July 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 7)Benedetti on fortifying concrete; Shaw on fountain‘standards’; Holden on Italy’s watershapes.r August 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 8)Bravoon Olympic-scale restoration; Martin &Testeron water and music; Jauregui on clients and styles.r September 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 9)Abaldo on a grand-scale vision; Gutai on valves;Lennox Moyer on principles of lighting water.r October 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 10)diGiacomo & Holden on watershaping’s role; Allenon integrated spaces; Grusheskion a river’s history. r November 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 11)Abaldo on grand-scale detailing; Freeman on wa-ter-chemistry ABCs; Hughes on naturalistic design.r December 2004 (Vol. 6, No. 12)Revisiting 25 projects that define The Platinum

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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 58.

GOTHICSTONE TILE GALLERY importsTravertine marble pavers quarried, cut andtumbled in Turkey. Offered in a range of sizeswith a standard 1-1/3-inch thickness, thepavers stay cool underfoot, are slip-resis-tant, do not require sealing and will not scuff

or degrade. They come in light- and dark-cream colors in sizes up to16 by 24 inches, and coping stones are available. Gothicstone TileGallery, Wayne, PA.

Circle 135 on Reader Service Card

TRAVERTINE PAVERS

DEL OZONE offers TrioPure, a combination salt chlo-rine/ozone sanitizing system for use in residentialswimming pools. The device comes in two models,one for pools up to 25,000 gallons, the other for ves-sels up to 50,000 gallons. The system runs 24 hoursa day independent of the pool pump with ozone asthe primary sanitizer and the salt system providing a0.5 ppm chlorine residual. DEL Ozone, San Luis Obispo, CA.

SALT CHLORINE/OZONE SANITIZER



AUTOMATED FIRE & WATER EFFECTS de-velops architectural fire and water effectsfor residential and commercial clients.Standard products include natural-gas-fueled tiki torches, firepits and fire con-tainers, all equipped with automatic,

switch-operated ignition systems. The company also designs andeither installs or provides specifications for custom fire/water ef-fects. Automated Fire & Water Effects, Las Vegas, NV.

FIRE AND WATER EFFECTS


SERGIO FURNARI COLLECTION offers hand-paint-ed, custom ceramic tiles for use in swimming pools,spas and fountains as well as outdoor furnishings(including benches and tabletops), interior floorsand wall murals. All tile patterns are custom de-signed by the artist, whose output includes deco-rative, colorful pool floors, medallions, architec-tural details and more. Sergio Furnari Collection,New York, NY.

HAND-PAINTED TILE

TECHLIGHT has published a 20-page, full-col-or booklet (with an accompanying compactdisk) on its line of outdoor lighting products.Bullet, flood and burial fixtures are highlight-ed along with court lighting and round orsquare poles for a variety of functions. Thealuminum housings are available in the fullspectrum of powder-coat colors to match any

commercial or residential design need. Techlight, Dallas, TX.


OUTDOOR LIGHTING CATALOG

CURRENT SYSTEMS offers Riverflow, a silent, efficient pumpdesigned to create the ideal current for swimming and aquat-ic exercise. Producing no bubbles or high-pressure turbu-lence, the pump works with a propeller system that gener-ates a broad, smooth, river-like flow that challengesswimmers at all levels. A user-friendly control enables theswimmer to select just the desired resistance. CurrentSystems, Calabasas, CA.

CURRENT PUMP



TENSAR EARTH TECHNOLOGIES offersthe Mesa retaining wall system in a rangeof colors and textures. The standard ma-sonry units, fiberglass connectors andwall caps allow for the construction ofstairs, 90-degree corners and convex orconcave curves and feature a positive

mechanical connection to their geo-grid reinforcement for a high lev-el of structural integrity. Tensar Earth Technologies, Atlanta, GA.

RETAINING WALLS


FIRESTONE BUILDING PRODUCTS offers lin-ers for ponds, watergardens and decorativewaterfeatures. Made from EPDM syntheticrubber, the fish-friendly material is highly flex-ible, stable, long-lasting and easy to install. Inaddition, the company offers geotextile matsto protect and cushion the liners as well as patch kits and seaming pan-els for use in larger projects. Firestone Building Products, Carmel, IN.

RUBBER LINERS


SUN SYSTEMSoffers the SwimSaver solar pool-heating system to stretch the swim season andreduce heating costs. The heater uses the pool’sown pump to circulate water through the solarcollector, where it warms up before moving backinto the vessel. Certified by independent labo-ratories and agencies, the collectors are ratedabove 1,000 Btus per square foot and come with a 15-year warranty. SunSystems, Brea, CA.


SOLAR POOL HEATING

RAVINI USA offers a complete line of antiquemarble products for use in exterior and interi-or settings. Quarried in Turkey, the old materi-al is stable and durable and comes in an arrayof colors in tile sizes ranging from 4 by 4 to 24by 24 inches. Numerous trim pieces are available, as are mosaic piecesas well as a wide range of complete art mosaics, borders and tile com-positions. Ravini USA, Pembroke Park, FL.


ANTIQUE MARBLE

DESIGN CONCEPTS MFG. introduces EFX lightcolumns and towers. The acrylic lights createAquallusion – the impression of moving water with-out any presence of water – through use of airflow,LED color changers and special optics. The illusionranges from tranquil, serene motion to an electrifyingrush of color suitable for either residential or com-mercial applications. Design Concepts Mfg., Orlando,FL.

NON-LIQUID WATER EFFECTS



AMERICAN SPECIALTY GLASS offers ag-gregates made from recycled glass for usein terrazzo and decorative-concrete installa-tions. The material comes in 25 colors insizes ranging from fine sand to 1/2-inch grav-el (and larger in some colors). The productis acid- and scratch-resistant, its color nev-

er fades, and it may be used in almost any application in place ofstandard aggregates. American Specialty Glass, Salt Lake City, UT.


GLASS AGGREGATE

Continued on page 64


OF INTERESTOF INTEREST

PENTAIR POOL PRODUCTS offers Challengerhigh-flow pumps for energy-efficient perfor-mance across a wide range of flow rates.Rugged and dependable, the pumps are avail-able in sizes from 1/2 to 5 hp, feature a pow-er end that can easily be removed for service

or winterizing and are made with thermoplastic pump components forenduring corrosion resistance. Pentair Pool Products, Sanford, NC.


HIGH FLOW PUMPS

WHITEWATER WEST has published “TheWaterpark Guide,” a catalog on its lines of bodyslides, inner-tube rides, rafting systems, thrillrides, wave equipment and spray parks – in-cluding highlights of the company’s custom “sig-nature” rides. The 28-page, full-color bookletshows completed projects and defines the com-pany’s dedication to quality, entertainment value and safety. WhitewaterWest, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

WATERPARK PRODUCTS



CLEARWATER TECH offers ozone water purifi-cation and disinfection systems for swimmingpools. The ozone destroys bacteria and fungi,oxidizes oil and other contaminants, eliminatesspores and cysts and enhances filtration whileleaving no undesirable chemical by-products.Support services from system design and start

ups to education and in-field consultation are provided. ClearWaterTech, San Luis Obispo, CA.

OZONE WATER PURIFICATION


SIGMA TWO INDUSTRIES offers Firefly MagicLights, a system that uses microchip technologyto mimic the flickering, flashing, fading glow of realfireflies. Available with solar, low-voltage or bat-tery power and in three light colors (green, yel-low or amber), the product comes in two mod-els, one with 7 lights and a 20-inch span, the other with 12 lights and a24-inch span. Sigma Two Industries, Apple Valley, CA.

FIREFLY LIGHTS

SILOAM STONE offers natural sandstoneproducts for watershaping and landscapingapplications. The company’s 640-acre prop-erty yields layered sedimentary sandstone,field stone, canyon stone, moss rock and ir-regularly shaped boulders ideally suited for

use in waterfeatures and ponds. Pieces are available with thicknessesto 24 inches, widths to 8 feet and lengths to 20 feet. Siloam Stone,Canon City, CO.


COLORADO SANDSTONE

TUSCAN IMPORTS offers the AntiquedSiena Collection of imported Italian pot-tery. Designed to give the clear impres-sion of centuries of age, the new pots,urns and medallions retain all the advan-tages of modern Siena-clay craftsman-ship. The material is frost-proof to 14 degrees F, making it suitable forexterior use in warm climates and for interior or sheltered use in colderregions. Tuscan Imports, Florence, SC.

ANTIQUED POTTERY



EMPEROR AQUATICS has published a four-page,color brochure designed to inform watershapersabout appropriate use of ultraviolet (UV) steril-ization for ponds and other living water systems.It describes the technology’s ability to controlplanktonic algae and other harmful pathogens in

everything from small, fish-sustaining ponds to giant mammal andreptile bathing pools. Emperor Aquatics, Pottstown, PA.

ULTRAVIOLET STERLIZING


RAFCO PRODUCTS offers Brickform tex-ture mats to impart three-dimensionalimpressions to partially set concrete.Designed to recreate the texture and feelof natural stone, brick and tile, the matsare molded from polyurethane and pro-duce surfaces that resemble a range of materials from coarse, wire-cutcommon brick to fieldstones and cobbles of great surface complexity.Rafco Products, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

CONCRETE TEXTURING MATS


FLOATING ISLAND INT’L has introducedBioHaven floating islands. Made from poly-mer materials, the islands are designed tobe planted with riparian and other water-lov-ing plants and placed in ponds, where theyenhance water quality, improve fish habitatand attract nesting birds and frogs. Plants’

roots grow through to water circulating within the island’s body. FloatingIsland Int’l, Livingston, MT.


FLOATING ISLANDS

STEGMEIER has published its 2005 catalog, a 78-page guide to its complete line of regular and spe-cialty cantilever forms for gunite watershapes; form-ing and finishing products (including trowels,concrete vibrators and more); deck-fabrication ac-cessories (drains, joints and sealers); and renova-tion materials. A gatefold at the back summarizesform and drain profiles for ready reference.Stegmeier, Henderson, NV.

CONSTRUCTION-PRODUCT CATALOG



ENVIROROCK offers artificial rockwork – boul-ders, waterfall structures and pool/pond cop-ing boulders – for use in and around residen-tial watershapes. The lightweight material ismolded to mimic real rock in texture and ap-pearance and comes in three colors: granite,sandstone and redrock. The waterfall systemsare self-contained, with some fabricated with

their own pools. Envirorock, Riverside, CA.

ARTIFICIAL ROCKWORK


SHADESCAPES USA offers a complete line ofumbrellas designed for poolside applications, in-cluding Isla, a side-post mounted, top-support-ed model featuring 360-degree rotation, two tiltlevels and the ability to fold down to the mast.Available in five sizes ranging from 7 feet, 8 inch-es to 12 feet, 5 inches, the umbrellas come in a number of colors to suitan array of design needs. ShadeScapes USA, Paonia, CO.

POOL UMBRELLAS

ECOSPHERE ASSOCIATES offers OracleFountains in a variety of configurations andcolors. Made of a strong, lightweight faux-stone material consisting primarily of fiber-glass, the fountains have the look of carvedstone (or even weathered bronze in some

designs) and hold up under the harshest weather conditions. Decorativewall panels with a range of naturalistic details are also available.Ecosphere Associates, Tucson, AZ.


GARDEN FOUNTAINS AND PANELS

OTTERBINE BAREBO has published a catalog cov-ering its line of aerators for water-quality manage-ment in lakes and ponds. Designed to maximize cir-culation and oxygen transfer, the devices inhibitgrowth of weeds and algae and keep self-containedbodies of water from turning into marshland. Thefountains are available in a variety of jet configura-tions, patterns and heights. Otterbine Barebo,Emmaus, PA.

AERATING FOUNTAIN CATALOG



ASINDO CALIFORNIA offers a wide arrayof outdoor-living products, including arange of furnishings ideal for poolside set-tings. Among available products are can-vas shade structures, teak tables and

chairs, umbrellas and an array of chaise longues to enhance any sun-bather’s good time. The fabric, metal and wood materials are select-ed and styled for durability and enduring beauty. Asindo California,Los Angeles, CA.

POOLSIDE FURNISHINGS


EAST JORDAN IRON WORKS has released a cata-log on its comprehensive line of cast-iron tree grates.Drawing on motifs from nature, urban settings andcultural icons, the grates comply with ADA specifi-cations, are designed for durability, functionality andarchitectural appeal and serve to provide more pedes-trian space while protecting developing trees andtheir root systems. East Jordan Iron Works, EastJordan, MI.

TREE GRATES


f there’s one thing we all know without any question, it’s that nobody is get-ting any younger. In fact, if you read any of the demographic information

available these days about the “graying”of the Baby Boom generation, it’s clearthat our entire country is becoming older en masse.

During the past year, I’ve experienced for myself what this means to us inthe watershaping trades in the form of a dramatic upswing in the number ofclients,most of them elderly,who have approached our firm looking for swim-ming pools primarily for the purpose of aquatic aerobics and other forms ofwater exercise.

For the most part, these prospects and clients have made it clear they wouldnot otherwise be interested in purchasing a pool: They need it, they say, topursue therapy for a range of physical conditions and ailments.

With that trend in mind (and anticipating the needs of my own aging frameas well), I decided to learn more about the world of water exercise and cameacross a terrific book, Water Aerobics for Fitness and Wellness by Terry-AnnSpitzer Gibson and Werner W.K. Hoeger (third edition, published by theWadsworth division of Thompson Learning in 2003).

If you’ve ever had any doubt about the potency of the water-exercise move-ment, these authors,both PhDs in health and fitness fields,use statistics, trendanalysis and commonsense discussions to make their case in the strongest pos-sible terms. They write at length about obesity and a surprising array of as-sociated diseases and conditions. They also discuss how growing older makes

it increasingly important for all of us to take ourphysical condition seriously.

One of the most effective treatments for all ofthese aches, pains and ailments, they say, is ex-ercise in swimming pools. Along the way to thatconclusion, they lead the reader through a com-pelling, eye-opening set of arguments, discus-sions and recommendations.

You don’t have to be a physical therapist toknow that high-impact, land-based activitiessuch as running,aerobic training or weight-lift-ing can lead to a range of injuries that will eitheraggravate an existing condition or even lead tonew problems. When submerged in the forgiv-ing, near-weightless environment of the water,those concerns are greatly diminished if not com-pletely eliminated.

Fact is, there are a great many people for whomthe only effective way to exercise is in water, sim-ply because they don’t risk hurting themselves.Furthermore, the even resistance provided bywater yields a form of exercise that can greatlyaccelerate healing processes.

One of the things that really impresses meabout this book is that, while it’s basically aboutwater exercise, it’s also about wellness in a broad-er sense. There’s wonderful information on fit-ness assessment and nutrition, for example,alongside exercise-specific information relatingto issues such as the differences between deep-and shallow-water exercise routines.

From the design perspective, I’ve learned thatpools built for exercise need to have flat, larger-than-usual shallow areas and that it’s importantto consider the texture of the surface material. Ialso found good information on various prod-ucts and apparatus that can assist users in max-imizing the benefits they experience.

As a watershaper, I believe it’s important tounderstand the full range of benefits our prod-ucts can yield,and I can personally think of noth-ing more powerful than the ability we have tocontribute to the physical,mental and even spir-itual well-being of the people we serve.

By Mike Farley

book notes

Exercising Sense

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Mike Farley is a landscape architect with more than20 years of experience and is currently a design-er/project manager for Gohlke Pools in Denton, Texas.A graduate of Genesis 3’s Level I Design School, heholds a degree in landscape architecture from TexasTech University and has worked as a watershaperin both California and Texas.

design • engineering • construction c · discussion and dazzling set of images offered by an...

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