Hollywood Hills Hillside Vanishing Edge Swimming Pool Designer & Builder Paolo Benedetti weighs in on why you need to get a swimming pool designer

Why you need to get an aquatic consultant / swimming pool designer involved early.

Design...
People who create designs for a living understand the importance of a well thought out plan. But many lay people simply cannot grasp the value in spending money for someone to consult on a swimming pool, spa, or water feature.

Value...
The real value is in the savings... Savings, you ask? How can spending thousands of dollars on a swimming pool designer possibly save me money?

Someone with experience can suggest innovative means to overcome obstacles or issues during the conceptual phase - long before they become on-site issues and delay the construction project. They can identify potential problems before they become one. They can offer creative solutions to conceal visual clutter. Their intimate knowledge of water and the way it acts on various surfaces, how it flow, how it breaks, scatters or casts can save the client from living with a constant mess.

Time...
Getting a consultant involved in your project as early as possible, will allow them to weigh in on important issues long before things are "set in stone." Lines of sight, vantage points, colors and reflections, materials and their suitability, and the "all important budgets," can be discussed early on in the project.

A designer can assist in visually integrating the water vessels into the project, landscaping, and help ensure that project timelines will be preserved. This will save the client money, by preventing from having to go back and rework portions of the project that had already been decided.

Architect or Landscape Architect??
Why can't my Architect or Landscape Architect perform this service? A few reasons, actually... education and experience.

While most Architects possess the college education, few if any possess the the combined specialized education about water through history, the physics of water and color, the importance of system hydraulics, the characteristics of water in motion, the construction of vessels, waterproofing, and modern construction technology, and the basics of designing complex water effects.

Decades of experience in analyzing the failed projects of others and actually designing and building complex hillside swimming pools, water effects, vanishing edge, knife edge, and zero edge pools can save the client money. The experienced designer can share the experience of the R&D from past projects that pushed the envelope of watershape design. R&D you ask? Yes - R&D! ("Rework and Demolition!").

Tricks that worked on past projects, solutions to prior issues, or proven techniques used to create an effect can save the client money, by not having to reinvent the wheel. There are people out there who already know that wheels are round, and can get your wheels rolling faster!

Knowledge & Experience
There are a lot of firms touting themselves as pool designers. Some are technicians. Some are artists. Some are engineers. Some are problem solvers. Some rely on computer programs. Some are merely builders. Some are copycats. Very few can do all of the above.

Knowledge and experience do come together... There are only few highly qualified aquatic designers in the world...
Individuals who can do it all (I won't say "know it all" because I am not arrogant enough to say that any of us know it all. After all, I learn something new every day. Sometimes, I even learn a lot of things in one day!).

But of those that possess the skills to perform at an exemplary level in all aspects of aquatic design - I can count them on one hand. And, yes, I consider each and every one of them a friend.

A well thought out plan can only be created, if the people doing the thinking actually possess the knowledge to think the relevant thoughts...

Now is the time to hire an aquatic consultant, before you start the plans for your dream project!

Paolo Benedetti - Aquatic Artist "Creating water as art."™ Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa© www.aquatictechnology.com