The multiple watershapes and their various needs led to an enormously complicated equipment pad and flotilla of control panels. We made our lives easier by carefully marking each pipe and distributing them as they approached the pads in a way that made installing equipment and controllers a (relatively) easy process later on.

   When we first began collaborating on projects with top-flight architects, landscape architects and landscape designers several years ago, for the most part our role in terms of design was fairly limited: We'd receive requests for bid and proposals based on plans of varying detail, and our role was that of faithful installers of the design. On occasions, of course, we'd also refer our own prospective client to those same designers, who would generate plans that we would in turn estimate and very often install.
We still work that way, but as we've built our ties to these accomplished artists, we've become aware that our role in their projects has been growing, even to the point where we are now being asked in many situations to offer our own design ideas. We're also seeing that, when on-site decisions must be made, these designers are allowing us and our top subcontractors to play key roles in the discussions.
   Based on the trust that grows from past successes, we're gradually becoming part of these design teams - and it all makes sense. This has happened, we think, because we work so often on projects in which the scope of the work expands beyond the confines of the original design. As a result, we're being asked more and more frequently to make suggestions, offer solutions, participate in decision-making and invent ways to accommodate new ideas on the fly.

What we've experienced is a logical progression beyond what was originally our limited role as design-savvy builders: Through experience, we've advanced to the point where we are often full participants in the design process and find ourselves enjoying the exploration of an ever-expanding realm of design for exterior residential spaces.

Mediterranean Flavors

   As case in point is the project seen on these pages: Situated above the Shady Canyon golf course in Orange County, Calif., with views of rolling hills to one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, the project was ideal for the Mediterranean sensibility that fired the clients' imaginations.
When we became involved, they already had a preliminary design in hand, but it was clear from the start that the homeowners viewed that plan as a point of departure that would lead to something more elaborate as we all moved forward.
   The landscape architect was Greg Grisamore, a gifted designer with offices in Newport Beach and Malibu, Calif. The clients wanted their own slice of southern European style, and Grisamore's design encompassed this atmosphere with a subtle flair - a yard rich with soft contours, features and colors, classic architectural touches and expressive hardscape and plantings. Our role was defined by the outdoor spa, large reflecting pond, front= and backyard fountains and indoor pool/spa combination he'd included in the basic plan.
   It was a complex project from the start, but because of the client' stated intention to reinvent and expand the program as we moved forward, everyone involved had to be flexible and able to accommodate major changes.