Master's thesis on ponds

[Querorz]

Hey guys,

I am doing master's in architecture. Now time to pick a subject for my thesis.

And i wanted to select a fun subject which might be ponds. I know some of you have profession on ponds. So i decided to ask for help here.

There are no sources on ponds in Turkish language. I wonder if there are some books and thesis on ponds in English. I need some serious books and thesis to quote from. Otherwise it would be so hard to complete a thesis only from my personal acknowledge.


Thanks.

 

[morewater]

"I really think Garden Ponds subject had been ignored by architects so far but designing and constructing a garden pond has a lot more to do with architects than other job classes."
________________________________________________________________________________________________

That's a very funny post, Querorz.

You just keep on telling yourself that.

I'm not an "architect", but I've built more than 100 ponds from 2000 gallons to 250,000 gallons.

 

[Querorz]

Ok. I changed it if you will be happy. But i didn't mean to offense anyone. In another forum they found an Architect writing a thesis on ponds weird. So i wanted to clarify it is not weird.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If you are looking for information Google 'Hardscapes, Water Features'. Ponds would be only part of an architect's palette of possible Water Features.

 

[morewater]

Understand biological requirements, understand climatological parameters, understand plant requirements, understand population, specie, etc., etc.

In most cases, the guy that "digs the hole" (if reputable) knows exactly what's going on and will understand not only the pond, but the property flow, terrestrial requirements including electrical.

Your post was innocuous and demeans designers/installers. I have seen architect "designed" ponds on many, many occasions on multi-multi-million dollar properties and have had to do many, many alterations for efficacy,

Consult, consult, consult..........

 

[Querorz]

Understand biological requirements, understand climatological parameters, understand plant requirements, understand population, specie, etc., etc.

In most cases, the guy that "digs the hole" (if reputable) knows exactly what's going on and will understand not only the pond, but the property flow, terrestrial requirements including electrical.

Your post was innocuous and demeans designers/installers. I have seen architect "designed" ponds on many, many occasions on multi-multi-million dollar properties and have had to do many, many alterations for efficacy,

Consult, consult, consult..........

I definitely agree there are designers and installer who aren't architects and do masterpieces that architects can't do. But still if we are looking for a profession to build ponds it was supposed to be architects' job. Why? It is art and construction. These two never meet in another profession. Installer is an occupation, not an academic profession.


I agree architects might be doing ponds with no decent knowledge but that doesn't mean that it is not their job. They just have to consult other professionals about design to build the right wildlife atmosphere.

You know if there is going to be a Zoo build you call an architect. But he has to learn about needs and living conditions of all animals and design accordingly. Otherwise the design will be useless. Same thing for the ponds.

Again. I never meant to offense anyone. But your reaction is unnecesary.

 

[morewater]

My furtherance of this conversation is also unnecessary.

 

[Nepen]

I'm curious as to what type of pond aspect you want to write about? the whole pond building? how to build a pond? how to take care of the pond? a successful pond? how to corporate pond and wild life? I dont have any knowldge in any of these by the way, just interested. It's also depend on how broad your thesis is, if you want to include effective filtration? what type of pond? goldfish / koi only / nature / plants life / climate of the pond (different type of care/ build) how it effect wild life ( especially bugs) / mud bottom vs lined pond vs concrete pond etc.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

It seems that there is some confusion of terminology.
An architect designs buildings. A landscape architect designs the use of open spaces. Though vaguely connected each is a separate discipline. An architect would not be the first choice to design a public park, for example, whereas a landscape architect would be.

 

[Querorz]

Geezer, sure, to talk more precisely it's landscape architect's job but there are no strict boundaries in architecture. With some self training and experience an architect might do landscape or interior architecture's job. Well, around the world , for most of the projects no landscape architect or interior architect is hired. 1 architect handles the whole thing. But i agree. This thesis will be a Landscape Architect thesis, which is fine. We can work on Landscape too.

Nepen most of the topics you mentioned have not much to do with architecture. I haven't talked to my thesis counselor yet but i will ask him if i can work on couple topics in 1 thesis. Construction and design are the ones i am interested in. Design involves plants too.

 

[Nepen]

well, for me, to be able to design a pond, you have to know all those stuff, have to know what type of pond you want to build before you design it, right? then you have to have a question of what type of pond first. then this pond is for what type of fish. Then you need to know the requirement of filtration for those fish/wildlife so you can design where to put the filtration/type (and a reason why you choose this type instead of the other). Do you need a bottom drain and where all the pipes go etc. then if you want to attract what type of animal to the pond, which type of plants suitable for the climate. where do you have the pond, if the pond is in cold climate you have to think about how the winter effect the pond (pipe frozen/ / ice build up / and how are you going to take care of the pump/filtration system in winter. etc etc. If you are going to just draw a pond then any one can do it, no?

 

[mgmine]

Querorz why do you continue to ask questions here? You know you will be beat up by some on the site for asking a legitimate question. May I suggest that you use some of these answers in your thesis to demonstrate the need for the public's education on the role of an architect. A landscape architect would usually be the one to design the pond like Frederick Law Olmsted. Do you think that old Frank knew anything about the workings of ponds when he designed them in the 19th century? Those ponds are still alive in the 21st century. Do you think that Frank Lloyd Wright knew anything about ponds or water features when he designed them? Further more do you think that old Frank would hire someone to design a pond for one of his projects? You use a good example with the zoo. The architect needs to know the requirements of the zoo. A cage for a giraffe is different than a cage for a lion and if the architect isn't smart enough to know that and get some solid information then he is in the wrong profession. Likewise if the architect is hired to build the Taj Mahal he had better not hire a "pond builder" to complete his vision. A pond or any water feature needs to part of the whole picture and not a stand alone. The vision needs to come from one person. Any amateur can dig a hole in the ground and call it a pond. A pond itself is anything but rocket science. It's the placement, shape and materials that separate the amateur from the professional. You don't have to be an architect to build one just like you don't have to be an architect to build a house. If you stick to the basics that the masters have developed over the years then your house will look good. Sorry I still didn't answer your question about where to find good reference books but I would start by researching Frederick Law Olmsted.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I haven't talked to my thesis counselor yet but i will ask him if i can work on couple topics in 1 thesis.

Approval for this as your thesis subject may not be that easy to get.

 

[Querorz]

Nepen you are right. There are so many details to go into and apparently i can't go into all little details. So instead maybe the work might be about the use of ponds in houses. How it is used around the world and what contribution it does to the house. Or construction might be researched in the thesis but only the materials and basic schemes will be shown.

Mgmine very good points. Enjoyed to read. Thanks. Ponds subject is always so confusing for me. Always very little material about them. Why? Why? They are everywhere. There are tons of details to go into, to build one. I am checking former Landscape Thesis. Nothing on ponds. What? Why? There can't be a better subject than ponds for landscaping. I type "pond architecture pdf" and all i find out is state handbooks. Nothing serious. Why? I law Frederick Law Olmsted's work. Thanks for giving me this name. But would you consider his ponds as farm ponds or garden ponds? Maybe somewhere in between?

Geezer i don't know man. I have never written a thesis before.

 

[Nepen]

Try read up on the Construction / Pond build section here. There are so many questions/answers/suggestions on so many type of pond. There are some references / discussions hidden in the posts too, if you are patient enough to read through. so you might be able to use some to cooperate in your writing.

also in showcases, people sometime explain how they created their pond.