Posts Tagged pools
A Brief History of Swimming Pools
Swimming is, by far, one of the most popular pastimes in the world. It is also one of the oldest. As an organized activity, swimming dates back to around 2500 BC. Swimming was immensely popular in ancient Egypt, and there are a number of relics from the period which depict the act of swimming in vivid and awe-inspiring detail. In ancient Greece and Rome, swimming was taught to boys as part of their elementary school curriculum. Furthermore, the first known public swimming pools were built in Rome.
Under the direction of a wealthy Roman lord named Gaius Maecenas, the first heated swimming pool was also built for public use. Plato, himself, once declared that anyone who could not swim lacked a proper education. Who dares to argue with him? Aside from the Greeks and Romans, many other ancient cultures have left evidence of their love for swimming; among them the Babylonians, Assyrians, and Phoenicians. There is also evidence of competitive swimming in Japan over 2000 years ago.
In the 1830’s, swimming became extremely popular in England with the establishment of various swim clubs. At the time, the breaststroke was the most oft used technique. In 1885, Captain Matthew Webb became the first man to swim across the English Channel and the breaststroke was his technique of choice. Two of the most popular swim clubs from the time were The Otter Swimming Club and The Leander Swimming Club.
In 1896, the first of the modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece. Naturally, competitive swimming played a significant role. The swimming event was held in the Aegean Sea, in the bay of Zea. The gold medalist for the swimming event was a fellow named Alfred Hoyos Guttman. Of the event, he said that his greatest struggle “was against the towering twelve-foot waves and the terribly cold water.” Swimming continues to play a prominent role in the Olympic Games.
Swimming continues to be the sport of choice for many of today’s athletes. Most cities have public swimming facilities, where you can swim for competitively or merely for fun. In fact, a number of public swimming areas also offer lessons for a very reasonable price. If you are a keen swimmer, you might even consider installing a pool in your backyard. With summer just around the corner, it would be a good time to start planning.
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Beautiful And Functional Lighting
You probably already know this on some level, but the lighting you choose for your home is critical for the beauty and functionality of the space. Too often, people add the lighting as an afterthought, without much consideration for the overall effect or the need for useful illumination.
The first consideration should always be for function. If your project is for an entire house, consider each space within that house – whatever areas are considered whole unto themselves. Usually this is by rooms. Think first of how you see the room being used. If this is a redesign it may be how it has been traditionally used, or you may take this opportunity to reshape it. Is it a room for work? For reading? For casual entertaining? For eating? For movie watching or music listening? A combination of these?
Next you should envision these activities more specifically. Where will they take place in the space? How much light will they require? A desk or table that will be worked at often will need dramatically different light than a painting to be highlighted on the wall. Also consider natural light – is the space bright enough during the day, or is there anywhere you would like it to be brighter?
There are 3 different kinds of lighting: background, task, and decorative. Each serves a specific and necessary purpose, and if layered properly, can show your room to its full advantage. Background illumination is the first layer – it should compensate for natural light in the daytime and light the room evenly at night. This is most often done by ceiling fixtures, but it can also be achieved by lamps and sconces around the room, providing overlapping pools of light. Task lighting throws intense, focused light on a workspace for preparing food, working, reading, playing an instrument, etc. With the bright light comes contrasting shadows, so be sure to place the light source in front of or beside the person, never behind. Decorative lighting, also known as accent lighting, is bright light shown on something to accent it – all form and no function. It can be to emphasize a painting as mentioned before, or an architectural element, a beautiful piece of furniture, a sculpture, a collection of some sort… the list is as varied as people’s tastes.
You are now armed with the essential knowledge and questions you need to ask yourself to embark on the task of lighting your space. Done properly, it can be a showcase that is as functional as it is lovely.
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