Visually, water can be tall and thin or it can be short and massive.  It can take on geometric forms such as a pyramid or a cylinder, or it can appear solid, translucent or transparent.  For a Landscape Architect, designing with water offers unlimited creative opportunities for incorporating excitement and drama into a public space.

 A newly completed project in California showcases the value of adding unique water features to a public plaza. Located just off the Ventura highway in Northern Los Angeles County, the architecture of The Commons at Calabasas is patterned after an "old World Village" concept.  "Often times our water features are designed as a natural part of a landscape feature.  In these instances, we marry naturally occurring water movements such as weirs, waterfalls, and running streams, as well as manmade effects such as dancing waters choreographed to music" said David Williams, AIA, Senior Vice president of Architecture for Caruso Affiliated Holdings, owners of The Commons at Calabasas.  Williams was responsible for the design and implementation and worked closely with the firm of James Dean ASLA on the design of the water features based on owner Rick Caruso's vision.  "We use bio-filtration to allow a variety of wildlife to inhabit and survive in the feature," said Williams. "It's an amazing phenomenon to witness a manmade mechanically operated water feature become it's own little microenvironment."

As with the firm of James Dean ASLA, Caruso Affiliated Holdings puts a lot of energy into the design, construction and maintenance of the water features in their public entertainment centers because their success depends on the ability to attract customers and give them a reason to stay longer. Since water is basic to all life forms, people tend to have a fundamental attraction to it as water soothes and quiets the human spirit. The sound and motion of moving water contributes energy to architectural spaces.

Utilizing water features within these public spaces has value added benefits, such as being able to mask the sound of traffic by installing a rushing waterfall or cascading fountain.

Many of the water features found at centers such as The Commons at Calabasas, The Promenade at Westlake, and The Grove at Farmers Market are interwoven with playful bronze sculptures of children and animals playing.

De L'Esprie of Westlake Village, California created all of the bronze sculptures for these impressive public centers, including The Commons at Calabasas.  All of her pieces are designed with whimsy and fantasy to stimulate the imagination. She begins by topping steel armature with clay. The sculpture is then cast in bronze by David Spellerberg at the Natural Heritage Collector's Society.  Each major piece takes six months to sculpt and six months to cast.

The sculptures are especially popular with children, who often times like to be photographed with the statues. "When a water attraction is geared towards children it is key as to how a child engages the water. We encourage children to get their hands wet, or to feed the fish and waterfowl or to interact with playful sculptural elements that are a part of the feature," said owner Rick Caruso.  "At the same time our focus is to design conditions so that they are safe to a child."

This article, in part was published in part by Landscape Architect and Specifier News, July 2002. The article was written by James Dean.

The Commons at Calabasas in California is a 22- acre site that incorporates three spectacular water features, including a running brook that evolves into a major waterfall and pond.  The largest fall of water is 11 vertical feet with more falls descending at lower heights. Four thousand gallons of water per minute cascade down the spectacular falls.

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James Dean ASLA - 223 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. # 304  Thousand Oaks CA  91360  - Tel 805.494.0623   Fax 805.494.9254