The Pool and the Stream

"99% Invisible," hosted by Roman Mars, delves into the origins and cultural impact of the kidney-shaped pool, tracing its history from Alvar Aalto's pioneering design in Finland to its adoption by California landscape architect Thomas Church. Church's design for the Donnell Garden in Sonoma popularized the kidney pool, which became a staple of suburban backyards and ultimately a crucial element in the skateboarding revolution of the 1970s. Skateboarding legends like Jake Phelps and Stacy Peralta recount how these pools, emptied during California's drought, provided the perfect terrain for developing modern skateboarding tricks and culture.

• Inspiration for stories can come from various sources: personal observations, conversations, or social media.
• The process from idea to execution is often lengthy and complex.

"When people ask us where we get our stories from, the answer is usually hard to pin down. It could be something one of us noticed walking around or something a friend mentioned or some forwarded link on Twitter."

• The origin of creative ideas is often elusive and multifaceted.

"It's nearly impossible to say where inspiration comes from in any art form. It's a long way from the seed of an idea to its execution."

• Alvar Aalto compared the development of architecture to the growth of a fish, emphasizing the need for time and maturation.

"Architecture and its details are in some way all part of biology, perhaps they are for instance like some big salmon or trout. They're not born fully grown; they're not even born in the sea or water where they normally live."

• Ideas, like fish, need time to mature and develop fully.

"Just as it takes time for a speck of fish spawn to mature into a fully grown fish, so we need time for everything that develops and crystallizes in our world of ideas."

• Skateboarding is often misunderstood and underappreciated, especially by non-skaters.
• Skateboarders have a unique appreciation for architectural details.

"It's kind of a pity that skateboarding is banned in so many places because skateboarders appreciate the small details of architecture more than anyone."

• Thrasher is a seminal publication in the skateboarding community, often referred to as the "Bible" of skateboarding.

"Thrasher is a skateboarding magazine that skaters call the Bible."

• The magazine's headquarters reflect the skateboarding culture, with employees who would rather be skating.

"Visiting its headquarters is kind of surreal; it's like if you went to a skate park and yelled out to all the punks, 'Hey, you guys want to go hang out in an office?' They're all there in sneakers and beanie caps slumped behind monitors like caged animals."

• Jake Phelps, editor of Thrasher, embodies the skateboarding lifestyle and ethos.

"I'm a skater. I dress like a skater. These are the costumes I've been running all my life."

• Phelps emphasizes the artistic and rebellious nature of skateboarding.

"Skateboarding is, you know, it's like an extension of me. It's like it's an art; it's something you have to understand."

• Skateboarding started with the "skateboard scooter," which evolved when people removed the handlebars.

"The very first skateboard was called the skateboard scooter, and it was a scooter. At some point, no one really knows when, but someone knocked the handlebars off the scooter and just rode the board."

• Skateboarding had a brief fad in the 1960s but quickly faded, similar to the hula hoop.

"Skateboarding had a very, very brief appearance in 1964 and 65. Skateboards were sold in toy stores, and skateboarding briefly became a fad, but then as quickly as it started, it died out again."

• Stacy Peralta, a pioneer in skateboarding, started skating with old boards found in garages.

"One of my friends, his older brothers had skateboarded in the very early 60s, and they had two skateboards left in their garage that they never touched. So we started riding those boards."

• Early skateboards had hard, clunky wheels, making tricks difficult and dangerous.

"Those early skateboards had these hard clunky wheels made out of clay or steel, so you'd eat dirt if you ran over a pebble or a penny on the ground."

• Despite the limitations, Peralta and his friends were passionate about skating.

"Even with those big clunky clay wheels, little Stacy found a blissful stillness. It was so profound that from that point forward, I needed to get back on that board and find that stillness because I'm more relaxed when I stand on a skateboard than I am when I walk."

• The invention of the urethane wheel in the early 1970s revolutionized skateboarding.

"The urethane wheel, this soft plastic wheel, had more give to it and held the ground unlike those clunky dangerous clay wheels that preceded it."

• These wheels were initially intended for roller skates but found a significant market in skateboarding.

"These soft wheels were intended for roller skaters at the dawn of the roller disco era, but a small company called Creative Urethanes began producing urethane wheels specifically for skateboards."

• The new wheels were sold in surf shops, as there were no dedicated skateboard shops at the time.

"The wheels were sold at surf shops since there were no skateboard shops."

• Urethane wheels revolutionized skateboarding in the summer of 1974.
• These wheels provided better grip and the ability to roll over bumps and small rocks.
• Skateboarders could now attack various terrains, expanding their skating locations.

"Sales of urethane wheels went gangbusters suddenly we had a wheel that could grip and it could roll over bumps and little rocks and it allowed us to attack terrain that previously we were not able to attack."

• The introduction of urethane wheels enabled skateboarders to explore new surfaces and areas previously inaccessible.

• Skateboarders began to reinterpret the city, finding new surfaces to ride in school yards, garages, and city buildings.
• The exploration often involved trespassing and breaking into places to find rideable surfaces.
• Skateboarders saw beauty in the pavement and concrete of their urban environment.

"These young kids were jumping fences and trespassing and breaking things all in search of new surfaces to ride they were reinterpreting the city around them finding the beauty in the pavement and the concrete of their world."

• The urban environment became a playground for skateboarders, leading to a new way of interacting with the city.

• A severe drought in Southern California during the mid-70s led to empty swimming pools.
• These empty pools, with their unique shapes, became perfect skateboarding spots.
• Skateboarders drained any remaining water from the pools to skate in them.

"The drought was so bad in the 70s that the water company ran billboard ads that encouraged couples to shower together to save water and to further save water people didn't fill up their swimming pools."

• The drought inadvertently provided skateboarders with new and ideal locations for skating.

• Los Angeles pools had distinctive, voluptuous shapes like peanuts, keyholes, and kidney beans.
• These pools were paved with smooth concrete and had gently varying depths, making them ideal for skateboarding.
• Skateboarders fell in love with the design and functionality of these pools.

"The pools of Los Angeles are shaped like peanuts like keyholes like kidney beans they have these curved undulating edges they are paved in even smooth concrete with gently varying rounded depths that slope back up to the lip."

• The unique design of Los Angeles pools contributed significantly to the skateboarding culture.

• Skateboarders like Stacy and his friends perfected the art of pool skating, performing aerial tricks and extreme maneuvers.
• Pool skating led to the development of new skateboarding genres, including the X Games and half pipes.
• The focus shifted from style to extreme maneuvers and aerial tricks.

"Eventually Stacy and the other skateboarders got so good at pool skating they were able to skate up over the edge of the pool they could kind of jump up up in the air and maybe do a spin or something before dropping back into the pool."

• The skills developed in pool skating laid the foundation for modern skateboarding competitions and styles.

• The resurgence of skateboarding in the mid-70s led to the revival of the magazine "Skateboarder."
• Skateboarding became a global phenomenon, with kids everywhere wanting to skate in pools.
• The skateboarding industry grew significantly, becoming a multi-billion dollar industry.

"Back in the first wave of skateboarding in the early 60s there had been a magazine called simply skateboarder it went out of business when the skateboarding fad died out but in the mid 70s the magazine came back and it featured Stacy and his friends riding in backyard pools."

• The revival of skateboarding culture had a lasting impact on media and the economy.

• The Donnell Garden in Sonoma County, Northern California, is a significant site in landscape architecture.
• The garden, planted in 1948, features a revolutionary design with a meandering lawn and floating islands of plants and rocks.
• The garden's design contrasts with traditional symmetrical gardens of the early 20th century.

"The Donnell Garden was planted in 1948 and it was revolutionary at the time traditional Gardens of the early 20th century had been more or less symmetrical rows of different kinds of flowers they were kind of like plant museums maybe accented with a geometric hedge or a fruit tree the Donnell Garden is nothing like that it's mostly lawn the lawn is a unifying feature it meanders through everything and it becomes the river the Green River that goes from space to space."

• The Donnell Garden represents a shift in landscape design, emphasizing natural, flowing forms over rigid, symmetrical layouts.

• The Donnell Garden is an iconic example of modern landscape architecture.
• Designed by Thomas Church, it features a distinctive kidney-shaped pool and abstract sculpture by Adeline Kent.
• The garden's design influenced the concept of the modern suburban backyard.

"The most distinctive shape, of course, is the pool... the first kidney-shaped pool in California."

• Highlights the uniqueness and historical significance of the kidney-shaped pool.

"The Donnell Garden became the epitome of outdoor California lifestyle throughout the 1950s."

• Emphasizes the garden's influence on California's outdoor living culture.

• Thomas Church believed in creating outdoor spaces that were both beautiful and functional.
• His book, "Gardens Are for People," advocated for practical garden designs that fit modern lifestyles.

"Church said that gardens didn't necessarily have to be those traditional rows and rows of flowers."

• Reflects Church's innovative approach to garden design, focusing on usability over tradition.

"They wanted their yard to be a piece of functional art that their kids and dogs could clamber on."

• Demonstrates Church's aim to make gardens enjoyable for families and pets.

• The Donnell Garden set trends for suburban backyards, including the lawn, deck, and pool.
• It inspired many West Coast landscape architects and suburbanites to adopt its design elements.

"As images of the Donnell Garden began to spread, newly minted suburbanites across Southern California began to imitate it."

• Shows the widespread impact of the garden's design on suburban landscapes.

"The pool inspired thousands of imitators and eventually thousands of young skaters in Southern California."

• Indicates the pool's influence on both garden design and skateboarding culture.

• The exact inspiration for the kidney-shaped pool is unclear, but biomorphic shapes were popular in the 1940s.
• A theory suggests the kidney pool design may have been inspired by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto.

"Retro Boomerang shapes were appearing in everything from fine art to mass-produced textiles and Formica tables by 1947."

• Contextualizes the kidney pool within the broader design trends of the time.

"There was a professor coming from California... talking about the Donnell Garden... the mother of all kidney pools."

• Introduces the idea that the Donnell Garden's pool may have been influenced by earlier designs.

• Alvar Aalto, a Finnish architect, designed a kidney-shaped pool before the Donnell Garden.
• Aalto's work was significant in developing a unique Finnish aesthetic and national identity.

"He designed a marvelous furniture and also had a flourishing business."

• Highlights Aalto's versatility and influence in both architecture and furniture design.

"Alvar Aalto is the man in Finland... almost every home has something designed by Alvar Aalto."

• Emphasizes Aalto's prominence and the widespread presence of his designs in Finland.

• Finland's architectural style evolved to reflect its national identity, especially after gaining independence in 1917.
• Functionalism became a key architectural movement, focusing on simplicity and utility.

"Finland wanted to step away from Soviet Romanticism... experimenting with a new approach called functionalism."

• Explains Finland's shift towards functionalism to develop a distinct national identity.

"Functionalism was a reaction to the dirty, nasty, polluted cities of the 19th century."

• Describes the motivations behind the functionalist movement in architecture.

• Alvar Aalto was influenced by functionalist ideas but aimed to humanize them.
• His architecture combined crisp functionality with natural and organic elements.
• Aalto innovated in wood manipulation, creating unique curvy designs.

"Alto's architecture was crisp and functional but a little more natural and organic, and he did this in part by using a lot of wood."

• Aalto's use of wood added warmth and natural aesthetics to functionalist designs.

"He made wood behave in ways it hadn't before, bending and gluing in a new way."

• Aalto's innovative techniques in wood bending allowed for new forms and designs.

• Curves were a significant element in Aalto's designs, appearing in stairways, walls, and furniture.
• His patented method for bending wood enabled the creation of unique shapes like wavy glass vases.

"Curves made their way into Alto's stairways and walls, and he made curving partitions to break up space."

• The introduction of curves helped in creating unpredictable and dynamic spaces.

"It's blown in that timber mold; we get a bit different and new shapes for it."

• Using timber molds for glass created distinctive wavy forms.

• The Villa Mairea was designed to be stark yet friendly and natural, using simple materials like timber and red brick.
• Aalto designed a uniquely shaped pool for the villa, possibly influencing later pool designs.

"We don't have there like any expensive material, just timbering the floor, some red brick on the wall."

• The use of modest materials emphasized natural aesthetics and functionality.

"Well, it's the kind of free form; it's a bit of a, well, maybe a sock, isn't it, with curvy ends."

• The pool's freeform shape was a departure from conventional designs, emphasizing organic curves.

• The story suggests that Thomas Church was inspired by Aalto’s pool design during his visit to Finland.
• The Donnell Garden pool, created by Church, became famous and inspired many imitators.

"The Story Goes that Thomas Church went back home, then it was 1948 when the Donnell Garden was made."

• Church's design, influenced by Aalto, led to a trend of curvy, biomorphic pools in Southern California.

"The Donnell Garden Pool becomes famous, appearing on magazine covers and inspiring hundreds of imitators."

• The widespread imitation of the Donnell Garden pool design had a significant impact on landscape architecture.

• The emptied pools during the 1970s drought in Southern California gave rise to skateboarding culture.
• This culture influenced individuals like Yana to become architects specializing in skatepark design.

"These hundreds of curvy biomorphic pools get emptied out in the drought in the 1970s and inspire a whole new skate culture."

• The adaptation of pools for skateboarding highlighted the versatility of Aalto-inspired designs.

"Now he has a specialty; yeah, I'm the only skatepark designer in Finland."

• The influence of skateboarding culture led to a niche in skatepark design, showcasing the lasting impact of Aalto's curves.

• Aalto believed that architectural ideas are organic and develop over time.
• He used a metaphor of a fish in a stream to describe the maturation of architectural concepts.

"Architecture and its details are in some way all part of biology, perhaps they are, for instance, like some big salmon or trout."

• Aalto's metaphor emphasizes the natural and gradual development of architectural ideas.

"Just as it takes time for a speck of fish spawn to mature into a fully grown fish, so we need time for everything that develops and crystallizes in our world of ideas."

• The analogy underscores the importance of time and evolution in the creative process.

The above notes encapsulate the key themes and ideas discussed in the transcript, providing a comprehensive overview of Alvar Aalto's architectural philosophy, his influence on pool design, and the subsequent impact on skateboarding culture and architectural inspiration.