Designer Water

Cracknells was brought out here in 1993 by Paul Cracknell, with just a few people, and has grown hugely over the last 18 years. At its peak we had more than 200 people working here - we're probably one of the biggest landscaping architects in the world in terms of manpower. We have worked on some very big landscaping projects, including Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Burj Khalifa and all three Palm islands as well as Zabeel Park. We mainly do big masterplanned developments, and anything from large city-scale right down to gardens - even as small as an Arabian Ranches villa.

"I enjoy the smaller scale stuff as you have more freedom, it's more straightforward and it's a lot easier to work with one client. With some of the bigger jobs you are trying to please lots of people: whole committees or lots of consultants. For villa projects, you're pitching to one person or one family and the big thing is you can be more creative and you can go nuts. I've done that on a few villas which I'm quite proud of! My big thing is swimming pool design - I like to think of them quite innovatively as water features rather than swimming pools. "The one in this garden is original in its use of new materials, adding a new spin. You don't learn about designing swimming pools from university or anywhere; you learn about it by actually doing it.

"That's why I like working in the UAE - you get to do things like that. There are good budgets and relatively easy access to materials because you are on the doorstep of places like India, which is so good for things like stones. Because of the climate, gardens mature quite quickly - which is nice. And Dubai is an innovative, modern, forward-thinking place and that translates into the landscape so you're able to do stuff - not just a Sainsbury's car park which you might be doing if you were in the UK! I've even had things built and then knocked down; do you remember the fountain at the Mall of the Emirates? I designed that, and then after two years it was demolished to make way for more shops.

"This garden was originally three plots which were joined together and it's quite elevated. It's a family home, although it looks a bit like a resort - it's very minimal and contemporary. The villa is geometric and we wanted to keep that feel in the garden, working on the same grid and axes as the architects. There is something key to the design: along the building entrance and around the back there is a massive double-height plate glass window, so the focus is really on the view. In the distance is the skyline of the marina so we've emphasised that with palm trees to make an avenue which is reflected with a water feature on the same axis at the front, and another at the back. So that gives you the wow factor - you open the door and can see right through the house, into the garden and over to the marina in the distance. Part of my philosophy of design is that if the client is asking for a swimming pool, then 99 percent of the time it will be a water feature - it's actually just sitting there with no-one in it. So I always make sure that the swimming pool is a water feature first and foremost and that's why this pool also falls on that axis to form part of the view, part of this long vista.

"The front water feature is a dish made of GRC [glass reinforced concrete] that is then painted with a special paint that makes it look like metal. We've used that for all the planters and features over the villa - it's called Metallica, after the band. At the back, we have the same thing but the water cascades over the sides.

"The client was very keen to entertain and have big parties of 350 people, so there was a lot of emphasis on the arrival experience. In terms of flat space, the garden had to accommodate tables and chairs and waitresses running around with food. But they also wanted areas for family dining, so we made a pergola for a more family scale that fits ten people. Round the side there is a barbecue and outdoor kitchen, which is nice.

"The levels are interesting - the building is relatively elevated compared to the two lakes, so we had to figure out a way of tiering down without having one big drop. What we did is we took a series of steps around the side to keep this plinth all at the same level, then terraced it down. The other major level difference would be formed by the curvilinear walls, which are actually a series of retaining walls, along each level. They are very overgrown and planted up to provide privacy from the road and to conceal themselves. We wanted to create a verdant steep slope rather than a series of walls. Now you can't even see them so the plan has worked out quite well.

"The pool is a zero edge pool where the water falls into a slot, which is covered by another stone. And what I did here is make this quite wide so people can sunbathe on it - and it's very shallowly sloping, so it's comfortable. This is the most innovative thing I've done in a pool in a while.

"The client wanted a sort of spa/jacuzzi area, and you'd generally have them separate. But they're usually pretty ugly! I suggested that we blend it within the swimming pool proper, which minimises costs - it's the same structure, same filtration, the same water. I designed the sun lounger beds, which come up out of the water flow, have bubblers inserted and are formed for people to lie on. They are also useful as they slope upwards and can be used as stepping stones to get in and out of the pool.

"The gazebo is rendered using the same finish as the villa, and is lit with downlighters and lights between the rafters which create an interesting pattern because of the way the shade fabric weaves. The lighting design was done in conjunction with a supplier - that partnership worked quite well too. In fact, it worked so well that he left his company and now works for us here at Cracknells."