Yandina dad to build eco pool for Shaquille O’Neal
A Yandina dad who has been at the frontier of recreational ponds in Australia is now heading to the US to build a new pool for Shaquille O’Neal.
Sunshine Coast
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A Sunshine Coast natural pool designer and builder has announced he will soon be heading to the US to build an elaborate eco pool for NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal.
Patrick Handley from Waterscapes Australia, who is part of a group of leading naturalistic water feature and ecosystem pool designers and builders from around the world, will be building the new recreational pond on O’Neal’s Georgia property in June.
The group of 11 builders known as ‘Aquascape Artists of the Year’ have already built pools for a growing list of celebrities including Bob Dylan, Sylvester Stallone, LL Cool J, Martha Stewart, Will Smith, Dr Dre, Tom Brady, William Shatner, Adrian Grenier, Diesel and Cesar Milan among others.
The only Australian in the group, Mr Handley was chosen to join them in 2019.
“I’ve been working doing natural water features, ponds and lakes since 2008 in Australia,” he said.
“I was recognised for my work in Australia and for the one we did at Woodford, which was pretty special, it’s the biggest system of the style that we build in the world.”
O’Neal’s pool will be an elaborate network of creeks, streams and ponds, and is set to cost around $US500,000.
The second recreational pond to be built for O’Neal by the team, it will be completed in about one or two days, Mr Handley said.
“Shaq had one built and now he wants another one, he loved it so much,” he said.
“It’s on steroids, the whole thing.”
Mr Handley said the new water feature will replace an existing pool system on site.
“So we are just going to re-do the whole thing, rebuild it, put a whole new system in there and make it like it should be,” he said.
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Mr Handley, who worked as a permaculturalist in South America, learnt to build water features and ponds in 2004 in Canada before bringing the process and education back to Australia.
“I’ve always enjoyed natural bodies of water and systems, creeks, rivers, aquatic life,” he said.
“I went to Chicago and got involved with Aquascape and we were just building them and you start to develop your skills through the years.
“They become more progressive and more natural as you develop your art. It is simple, but it’s not as simple as everyone seems to think.”
Thirty-eight certified contractors Mr Handley trained and mentored now currently operate in Australia.
“It’s got its own legs now and is just sort of growing by itself,” he said.
With a surge in popularity in recent years, the water systems are described as “multi dimensional, in-ground aquariums” unlike regular swimming pools.
“These other recreation ponds, you can still hop in them and cool off,” Mr Handley said.
“But they’re also beautiful, with sound, with life, with a visual of a waterfall.
“There are so many different elements to it that make it enjoyable all year long. And they’re alive, they’re living.”
The water is filtered using biological filtration and wetlands, working with nature “rather than trying to fight it off with chemicals”.
“With the Woodford one we did, that water gets tested at each event, and a water testing company in Melbourne came back and said that the water quality is better than most water drinking samples they get,” Mr Handley said.
In Australia, an inaugural “open backyard” event will take place nationwide over the next two weekends showcasing 30 – 40 existing Aquascapes ecosystems, including some of Waterscapes own designs on the Sunshine Coast, to create Australia’s biggest ever pond tour.
“We are a local business but we have created a whole new industry in Australia,” Mr Handley said.
“This is the whole thing behind them, you basically build it and they will come.”
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