BUILDING FOUNTAINS AND PONDS - Fountain
and Garden Pools 2
We show in Fig. 9.1 plan views of a
circular pool and an oblong
one. Although these are formal shapes,
the rigidness of the design
is counteracted by forming the pool borders
of irregularly shaped
flagstones. The pool at the top of Fig.
9.2 appears at first glance to
be only a misshapen kidney, but closer
examination shows that its
design is strictly logical. It is a fairly
large, brook-fed pool, and it
was planned so as to provide bodies of
water of fair, though unequal,
size on both sides of the walk which
crosses the pool by means of
stepping stones. The pool at the bottom
of this figure follows the
lines of a serpentine wall. The wall
actually forms one side of the
pool, and its architectural relation
to the wall is very similar to
the more regular wall pool shown in Fig.
9.3.
The pool shown in Fig. 9.4 is not a quiet pool. By
means of its
fountain it constantly draws attention to itself, and,
therefore, it
should be surrounded by other objects which are worthy
of atten-
tion and study after interest in the fountain and pool
has waned.
The pool's unusual shape carries out the theme of attention-getting.
The main principle in the design of pools is to emphasize,
in a
mild sort of way, some specially good feature of the
setting. If the
garden is formal, the pool should be formal. On the
other hand,
if the garden is informal, the pool should be informal
in spirit, but
it need not be so shapeless and crude as to appear
haphazardly
placed and constructed. If the pool is to be used for
colorful fish or
aquatic plants, these can be better observed if there
is a fair amount
of free space around the pool. If the main function
is to add light
and color to a corner, the pool should be placed so
that its surface
will catch the light of the sky during a good share
of the day. If
the main object is to reflect the color of some interesting
plant such
as a rambler rose, the location should be such that
the reflection
will be seen from several points, or at least the most
frequented point
in the garden. Landscape architects usually place pools
at the end
of a main axis of the garden plan or where two axes
cross. The shape and materials of the coping around
the pool have
much to do with its appearance when finished and its
appropriate-
ness in its setting. Formal pools require formal copings.
For exam-
ple, a plain concrete rim looks well on a round pool
in a formal
garden, especially if the rim is artistically shaped.
Ceramic tile also
suits formal pools.
|
