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 For the past several years, watershaper, landscape architect, educator and WaterShapes columnist Mark Holden has been challenged by his students to be as precise and consistent as possible in his use of watershaping terminology.
In trying to comply, Mark has run squarely into the recognition that his industry colleagues encounter the same problem as his students: Common terms used by watershapers are seldom as definitive as they should be for the most effective communication with clients, contractors and local authorities.
That's why we've launched Coming to Terms, a special section of our Web site that seeks to pin down the meaning of important watershaping terminology. Coming to Terms will cover a wide variety of words and Mark's analysis of them. Please feel free to join in the discussion with suggestions and comments of your own.
Vanishing Edge vs. Negative Edge vs. Infinity Pool/Edge
For decades now, we haven't been able to come to a collective agreement about what to call watershapes in which water flows over a lowered portion of the bond beam and is then caught in a trough of some sort before recirculation.  More
Thermal Ledge vs. Baja Shelf vs. Sun Shelf
For many years, the popular appeal of creating shallow, multipurpose areas within swimming pools has been growing. These spaces are great for just getting your feet wet or, on hot days, for laying partially submerged in cooling water while risking excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation. More
Definition: Pool
You would think we could all immediately agree on a definition for the term "pool," as building these structures has been part of our design heritage for more than 4,000 years — and the foundation of a modern industry since at least the early years of the last century. More
Definition: Spa
The ancient Greeks and Romans were among the first to use a bath or tub of fair size for immersion in hot water. Significantly later, this form of watershape broke through — definitionally speaking at least - as a result of the popularity during the 14th century of a Belgian town by the name of Spa that was much prized for the supposed curative powers of its many natural hot springs and public bathing environments. More
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