BOUND ONLY BY IMAGINATION

OUTDOOR OASIS
Despite its (well deserved) reputation for scorching hot summers, Phoenix might be the outdoor entertaining capital of the United States. That?s because even on the hottest triple-digit day, the bone dry desert air of Arizona cools quickly as soon as the sun finally sets. Meanwhile, the mild winter climate and 300-plus sunny days a year mean Valley of the Sun residents often spend their January barbequing and dining poolside.

So it only made sense that, as Phoenix-based fabricator Kris Kesler was contemplating a career change, he?d settle on outdoor water and fire feature design. A second generation metalworker, Kesler had learned the in-and-outs of the business at his father?s commercial stainless steel fabrication company. A passionate welder, Kesler eventually transformed his love for metalworking into a successful furnishings company. However, while designing a series of water features for a nightclub operator in Austin, TX, Kesler decided he was missing the boat.

Founded in 2005, Bobé Water & Fire Features now boasts a network of more than 350 distributors across North America. Specializing in the fabrication of copper and stainless steel products to service the artistic needs of the pool, spa, landscape and architecture industries, Bobé?s (pronounced BO-BAY) products have been installed everywhere from Bermuda to Dubai. However, it was a call from a homeowner in his home town of Phoenix that led to Kesler?s most innovative creation ? a freestanding, double-sided fireplace where the entire structure is bathed in flowing water.

BACKYARD BEAUTIFICATION
The client, who wished to remain anonymous, called Bobé after seeing his work featured in a local lifestyle magazine. Tucked inside a gated community in central Phoenix?s ritzy Biltmore area, she had a grass- and desert-landscaped backyard that needed a little more ?oomph?. Although the yard was lined with colorful flower beds and framed postcard-perfect views, this avid entertainer felt it needed a signature water feature.

?I had this empty space at the end of my patio, so my first thought was to add a water fountain to keep the patio cool on those hot summer days,? she says. ?However, after I saw Kris? work in Phoenix Home & Garden, I started thinking about how cool it would be to have a design that combined both water and fire, especially on a cool winter night. Besides, everybody looks better by the glow of a fire.?

At the initial meeting, Kesler and the client hit it off. They talked design aesthetics and budget (approximately $15,000, including hiring an outside contractor to prep the site with gas, electrical, plumbing and a concrete pad). ?Cost is always a consideration,? Kesler says. ?Usually, I work out some rough schematics with a loose idea of a budget, and then we can always scale it up or down.?

After agreeing on the budget, Kesler pitched the client on a custom twist on Bobe?s newest creation. Named the ?Fire & Water Place,? the surface of this freestanding fireplace/fountain is completely covered in flowing water. However, Kesler wanted to incorporate a new twist: twin sheets of glass-like water flowing over the double-sided fire window. After agreeing on a game plan, Kesler took a series of digital pictures and laser-based measurements and headed back to his shop.

Here, inside Bobé?s 20,000 sq ft manufacturing facility, is Kesler?s secret weapon. Every design, from the simplest pool scupper to the most intricate commercial fountain, is created using SolidWorks 3D CAD software. ?With this software, I?m able to run thousands of simulations to virtually test everything from tolerances and leak resistance to the smoothness of the water flow,? Kesler says. ?Even on a completely one-off piece like this Fire & Water Place, I?ve already studied how it will work in the real world. That means there?s no guesswork, and nothing is left to chance.?

Take Bobe?s line of pool scuppers, for example. Also known as water spouts and usually made from plastics and other inferior materials, Kesler wanted to create a line of high-end metal scuppers. However, he found the angular, choppy interiors can create a bubbly and uneven water flow, ruining the pristine and glasslike stream that savvy clients are seeking. Eventually, a combination of virtual and real-world testing led him to add multiple chambers and an angled interior baffle to his water spouts, providing a clear, bubble free sheet of cascading water without the use of a filter or a rock trap.

When designing a custom landscape feature, Kesler starts by creating an accurate mock up of the site, including the house and all existing landscaping. He uses digital picture to precisely match the color, detailing and surface textures, and can even simulate how the new feature will look from various windows and viewpoints inside the house. ?Some clients have even asked me show them how it might look while sitting on their couch or laying in bed,? says Kesler.

Next, Kesler whips up a quick rendering of the water fireplace for the client so she can get a feel for how it will look, while still allowing him it?s to easily change out materials or design features. ?However, I always make sure even these rough-cut designs are precisely sized so I will know it fits and so the client can look at it accurately from all the angles.?

After an hour or so of flipping, rotating and zooming in and out, the client signs off on the water fireplace?s design. Now it?s back to the factory floor to actually figure out how to engineer and then fabricate this complicated piece of functional art. Here, sitting at a small desk, mere feet from the chaos and flying sparks of the factory floor, Kesler hunches over his laptop computer. His welding mask hangs nearby, but for now he?s busy pointing and clicking his way through the complex design process. ?No client has stumped me yet,? Kesler says lean back and runs yet another computer simulation.

Next month, in part two of our story, Kris takes readers from the rendering to the engineering stage, where the logistics are negotiated to perfection ? from calculating the proper flow of water, to analyzing how heat from the fire will relate to the temperature change of the water and the outside temperature?s effect on the metal.

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Bobé Water & Fire Features, 3101 N. 29th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85017, 602-253-3494, Fax: 602-253-3496, www.bobescuppers.com.