Swimming Pool Designer - Custom Designs

Custom swimming pool designs for YOU, your lifestyle and architecture.

Custom Designed Swimming Pools

Open any yellow pages or browse any swimming pool builder's website and they all tout "custom designs."  But what really is a custom design?

"Designer"

A commissioned sales man is not a designer.  Assembling options from a list and placing them around a predefined shape is not design either.

A designer is someone who truely has the clients best interest in mind.  A designer will seamlessly meld the architecture of the site with the landscaping.

They will consider the prevailing winds, neighbors views, primary lines of sight, shifting seasonal sun, scope & scale of the property and the clients lifestyle.  They will even plan for forecasted changes in the clients lifestyle - whether it be the addition of children, soon to be empty nesters, teenagers or just clients who want something beautiful to look at.

Architecture 

Swimming pools have graduated from mimicking body parts plopped aimlessly in the center of the yard, to architectural wonders.

A designer is one who can create the sense of "belonging,"  as if the yard would be missing something if the pool was absent.

Knowledge

It takes decades to develop the knowledge and background to become a designer.  Merely drawing well or being able to select harmonious colors does not qualify one as a designer.

One must understand the mechanical and hydraulic designs as well.  Being able to draw a pretty picture without understanding how to actually build it, is a waste of the clients' time.

Qualified Designers
 
There is only ONE accredited course of aquatic design study in the world - the Society of Watershape Designers.  Only those that have completed the course of study and who maintain their continuing education, can display the S.W.D. certification.

In selecting the Best of the Best, one would naturally hire S.W.D. course instructors.  After all the best could only learn from those that are better!


Paolo Benedetti, S.W.D. - Aquatic Artist 
"Creating water as art."™ 
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa 
©www.aquatictechnology.com

Swimming Pool Design Expert Designer Construction Consultant

Swimming Pool Designer, Consultant and Construction Expert Paolo Benedetti has seen it all....  here he discusses education and "pool designers."

"Pool Designer"

Anyone who can draw the shape of a kidney bean can call themselves a "pool designer."  Before you retain the services of someone to design your swimming pool or aquatic center, you need to consider the "designer" background.

They should be well versed in art, history, architecture, modern construction methods and material science.  They should charge for their time and experience.

You Get What You Pay For

Are you willing to pay someone to create a thoughtful design that incorporates your desires and anticipates your future needs?  Face it, anyone with a computer program, template or a pencil and paper can draw a swimming pool.

But, will that person create a design that actually WORKS with your site?  Will they draw inappropriate circular patterns for a site that has nothing but linear lines and angles?   Is the "designer" the salesman who has a vested interest in loading your pool with every option imaginable?


For a first class design, you need to be willing to spend a few thousand dollars.  Some designers that also build pools, offer a partial credit of the design fees, against construction costs if you do not put the plans "out to bid."  This is the "licensing fee" for the plans.  When the client is not going to disseminate the designers plans and ideas to the competition, then the client should be entitled to a credit.

However, if the client is using a designer/builder to create construction documents for bidding purposes, then the client should pay full price - regardless of who is eventually hired to construct the project.  After all, they exercised their licensed rights.

Design Premises

Is that salesman or "designer" going to jamb the largest pool that they can into you yard?  

The design must consider the lines of sight - what you will see from the various vantage points.  Its' scale must be appropriate to the size of the space. 

The perspectives of the finished project should not focus on the pool, but rather the entire scene.  The pool is but one element of the outdoor environment.  The pool must work harmoniously with the rest of the yard - retaining walls, stairs, sitting areas, patios, plantings, trees and shrubs.

Lifestyle

Life today is hectic.  Most people do not relax and unwind until the end of the day.  Does the design take that into account?  When come home will you be looking into a vast dark wasteland out the back window?

Was your designer trained in landscape lighting and techniques?  Did they incorporate lighting effects to create a dramatic scene after dark?

Reality

Face it, you will spend more time looking at your pool than actually swimming in it.  So shouldn't it be aesthetically pleasing to look at at well?

Training and Education

Designers and contractors alike must stay abreast of the current trends, materials and construction practices.  The building codes change annually, as to construction methods.

What is your designer doing to stay current on their education?  Or are they still doing things the way they did three decades ago?

There are only a dozen or so people in the entire world that have completed the planet's only accredited swimming pool design program.  A Society of Watershape Designer has earned the right to use the S.W.D. title after their name.  Continuing educational requirements ensure that they stay current on their training and education.

You're investing thousands of dollars having your landscape designed... why wouldn't you spend an equivalent amount (or more) to have the single largest element in your yard professionally designed and engineered?


Paolo Benedetti, S.W.D. - Aquatic Artist 
"Creating water as art."™ 
Aquatic Technology Pool and Spa
©www.aquatictechnology.com

Dr. Paolo Benedetti, Swimming Pool Expert, Dr. Pool-ology

What does it take to earn a Dr. Pool-ology degree?  Become Certified by the Society Of Watershape Designers (SWD).

But as in any professional trade, someone who has been practicing for decades is usually more proficient than a recently credentialed rookie.  The same applies to the swimming pool design and construction professions.


Education

Obtaining a professional credential involves major investments.  Investments in time, money and lost income.  In business school this is called an "opportunity cost."  The student is foregoing earning income (the lost opportunity) to attend courses, in addition to the travel, lodging, food and course expenses.


But earning a professional credential illustrates to the industry and to consumers that this person is serious about their chosen profession.  They are willing to invest in themselves, in order to provide a better service to their clients.


Society of Watershape Designers
 
The curriculum of the Society of Watershape Designers is the ONLY accredited program of it's kind in the world.  Though there are a few other programs in the swimming pool industry, none is an accredited program - PERIOD.


Collegiate Level Courses

The courses in the curriculum of the Society of Watershape Designers are taught by college professors, college educated professionals or trades people with decades of experience - many times they are a combination of the above. They are not taught by the sales or marketing staff of a manufacturer.  Each courses requires a passing score on the exit examination - not the mere presence of a warm body playing on their I-Phone.


Course of Study

Just like in college there are mandatory "core" classes, followed by electives.  And like any professional certification, continuing professional education, within or external to the SWD, is required to maintain one's certification.


HEADS & SHOULDERS BEYOND

In the swimming pool industry there is a very select group of individuals who have taken their education and craft lightyears beyond that of their closest peers.  Those individuals are the Platinum Members of the Genesis 3 Design Group.


In addition to possessing their SWD Certification, this select group has demonstrated a track record of exemplary execution in aquatic design.  They have opened the finances of their business to review, provided references from past clients, permitted peer reviews and site inspections of prior projects, submitted plans and photographic documentation as to their construction practices and have pledged their strict adherence to the highest possible standards in design, construction and ethics.


Paolo Benedetti is proud to be a member of the first group of people to obtain their SWD Certification (#009) and a Platinum Member of the Genesis 3 Design Group - since it's inception.


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