Reflections on the Pool: California Designs for Swimming (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Ib Melchior (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

From Sonoma wine country in the north to sundrenched La Jolla in the south, and from Malibu's seaside enclaves to Palm Springs nestled in the desert, California's distinctive regions are home to many of the world's most stunning swimming pools.

Since the ancient times, when manmade baths enhanced the gardens of Egyptian nobles, pools have been built as the ultimate symbols of luxury and leisure, providing a means of capturing one of nature's most elusive elements. Soon after the pool arrived in America in the nineteenth century, California became a mecca for pool owners, where many advances in pool design have been made over the last century.

Reflections on the Pool presents 40 perfect pools in 100 brilliant color photographs. These include the vibrant, Mexican-style architectural design of Ricardo Legorreta and the avant-garde, sensational creations of John Lautner, and illustrate the theories of the renowned landscape designers Thomas Church and Isabelle Greene.

Each section of the book features a type of pool, or an element of pool design. Pools imitating nature, lap pools, architectural or highly ornamented pools are discussed in detail, as well as historic pools such as Hearst's Neptune Pool at San Simeon or Thomas Church's vanguard kidney-bean-shaped design of 1948, and other early California examples that set precedents for the pools of today. The introduction outlines technical aspects of design, and gives a brief history of the pool, including the influence of Hollywood on its popularity.

Whether you own a pool or wish for one, and wherever you live, Reflections on the Pool is a color-infused, fresh, and inspirational display of the boundless possibilities in pool design.

About the Author

Photographer Melba Levick has published over twenty photographic books and her work has appeared in numerous exhibitions and magazine articles in Europe and America. Much of her work reflects urban and architectural themes. She is based in Paris and Los Angeles.

Cleo Baldon is design director for Galper/Baldon Associates, a landscape architecture firm based in Venice, California. She has designed over 3000 pools in Southern California, and she is credited with the development of the lap pool, and holds a design patent for the contour spa with ergonomic underwater seating.

Ib Melchior is a best-selling author of more than a dozen novels, as well as a motion-picture and television director and script writer. He is co-author with his wife, Cleo Baldon, of Steps & Stairways (Rizzoli, 1989).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; illustrated edition edition (March 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847820149
• ISBN-13: 978-0847820146
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #365,096 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for landscape designers and architects, May 3, 1999

By A Customer

This excelent book is focused exclusively on design. Very inspiring and unique. Do not expect to find anything about maintenance, it is a book meant for designers. A must for landscape designers and architects.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational and Substantive, August 10, 2000

By	D. Kiefer "docauto" (Norcross, GA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Detailed analysis of a few each of several different types of pools: lap pools, "natural" pools, indoor pools, famous pools, etc., all in California. Not a construction manual, but full of details worth considering when designing a pool. A must for anyone considering getting a pool on a difficult or very special piece of land.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A topnotch swimming pool anthology, January 26, 1999

By A Customer

The photography is fabulous. Many of the pools were designed by the author, but this does not detract from the book. It is well balanced. The chapters include: the natural pool, lap pools, infinity edges, indoor pools, historical pools, among others.