Reflecting Pools
A reflecting pool is a shallow pool with a very calm surface. It is normally built near another structure or element in order to reflect its form like a mirror. It can be part of a garden, a courtyard, a centerpiece for a backyard, or a standalone feature in a park or urban plaza. More famous reflecting ponds include the reflecting pool in Washington DC, The University of Western Australia, Planalto Palace in Brasilia, and Hermann Park in Houston, Texas.
The remarkably calm water that characterizes these solemn, still masterpieces is created by a simple trick of physics. The edges of the pond are made slightly deeper than the center. This inhibits wave formation and keeps the water very still even when the wind is blowing. In residential landscape design, reflecting ponds are used to link divergent landscape elements into a unified aesthetic of contemplation. The surface of the water acts like a mirror to inorganic and organic forms alike, bringing them together in a single moment.
Reflecting pools are commonly built near large garden sculpture or fountain. This has the effect of magnifying the element and making it appear more prominent on the landscape. They are also popular elements to add to areas populated by outcroppings of trees. When there are only a handful of trees on the landscape, a reflecting pool makes it appear as though there are many more than their actually are. While some areas of Houston, such as the Memorial Area, have an abundance of trees, other parts of town have smaller lots and have fewer trees. Building what amounts to a landscape mirror will make any back yard look larger than it actually is and more like a park area when you walk outside.
Reflecting pools are also built near homes and commercial buildings. This has the effect of extending the edifice of a structure forward into space. In parts of Houston where the new trend is to build up instead of out, reflecting ponds can be a valuable addition to a high-rise apartment community. The vertical presence of the buildings can be brought toward the center of a courtyard build around a reflecting pond that converges in a mirror of angles and shapes in the center of urban living space.
Reflecting pools in these environments are often done with vanishing pool edges. An infinity edge makes the water look like a true mirror in every sense of the term. In the absence of a visible shell or coping, all you see is the water’s edge and the forms that the water reflects. Generally, more contemporary settings call for this effect because of the mathematical connotations it conveys and the sophisticated aesthetic it generates in landscape design.
Landscape architects prefer to build reflecting pools with very dark basins. This prevents the basin itself from reflecting light back out of the water. Only the light that strikes the surface is reflected back toward the eyes—creating the mirroring effect we have been discussing in this analysis. The remainder of the light that penetrates the water is absorbed by the darker hues of the pool basin.
The remarkably calm water that characterizes these solemn, still masterpieces is created by a simple trick of physics. The edges of the pond are made slightly deeper than the center. This inhibits wave formation and keeps the water very still even when the wind is blowing. In residential landscape design, reflecting ponds are used to link divergent landscape elements into a unified aesthetic of contemplation. The surface of the water acts like a mirror to inorganic and organic forms alike, bringing them together in a single moment.
Reflecting pools are commonly built near large garden sculpture or fountain. This has the effect of magnifying the element and making it appear more prominent on the landscape. They are also popular elements to add to areas populated by outcroppings of trees. When there are only a handful of trees on the landscape, a reflecting pool makes it appear as though there are many more than their actually are. While some areas of Houston, such as the Memorial Area, have an abundance of trees, other parts of town have smaller lots and have fewer trees. Building what amounts to a landscape mirror will make any back yard look larger than it actually is and more like a park area when you walk outside.Reflecting pools are also built near homes and commercial buildings. This has the effect of extending the edifice of a structure forward into space. In parts of Houston where the new trend is to build up instead of out, reflecting ponds can be a valuable addition to a high-rise apartment community. The vertical presence of the buildings can be brought toward the center of a courtyard build around a reflecting pond that converges in a mirror of angles and shapes in the center of urban living space.
Reflecting pools in these environments are often done with vanishing pool edges. An infinity edge makes the water look like a true mirror in every sense of the term. In the absence of a visible shell or coping, all you see is the water’s edge and the forms that the water reflects. Generally, more contemporary settings call for this effect because of the mathematical connotations it conveys and the sophisticated aesthetic it generates in landscape design.
Landscape architects prefer to build reflecting pools with very dark basins. This prevents the basin itself from reflecting light back out of the water. Only the light that strikes the surface is reflected back toward the eyes—creating the mirroring effect we have been discussing in this analysis. The remainder of the light that penetrates the water is absorbed by the darker hues of the pool basin.
Labels: Luxury Pools, Pool Design, Pool Remodeling, Swimming Pools
posted by Jeff Halper at
5:39 AM
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