maybe water: photo dump and a return to my roots, in hopes of clarity

Concerns raised by my recent trip to Rotch: 90% of books related to water-related architecture featured...beach houses, more or less. It's either that I'm just bad at choosing search terms, or there really isn't a good survey of water-related architecture out there...or at least at MIT.

I resorted to a Google search at a certain point and in the midst of sorting through too many hits, this one struck me hard.

Probably because I remember my 11th birthday party being held at a water park just like this one in sunny Socal. Fond memories, but I also had to recall the virtue of my 11th grade history teacher who refused to water his lawn because "you shouldn't have grass in the desert." It wasn't a long stretch to begin asking questions about the appropriateness of what I knew to be just one of many such water parks in the LA area, especially after more Google hits of pictures like this:

Bleached rocks at Lake Powell, where spring water levels are just two-thirds their normal level.

At a point in time when I felt that my interest in residential waterfront architecture was hitting a dead end, I'm finding that adding another constraint to the same scenario -- climate sensitivity -- is bringing a new level of meaning to me. How to live in symbiotically with water in a climate that will always be at odds with it? I am also finding that public/civic spaces are actually much more interesting to me than residential when it comes to exploring this idea, because of the opportunity to celebrate a commodity and a resource, not just systemize a method of its consumption.

So then, a quick outline of my latest ideas and some inspiring photos should do it. Comments welcome =)

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what interests me and why
how a water park is not the water-infused equivalent of a regular park
is there a way to enjoy water in a climate-sensitive construct in an environment that is at odds with its existence?

what I plan to do
a new model for a the water park
not the wet version of an amusement park, but rather a new model for a recreational landscape offering amenities, comforts and gathering spaces that water, a foreign element in arid climates, can bring.
possible site: the Hurricane Harbor in my hometown, where I had my birthday 10 years ago. (irony!!)

how I will do it
redesign of the water park
exploration of the water play
an environment in which water is valued, enjoyed and refreshed

why it matters that I do what I plan to do
how water can be used, enjoyed and valued appropriately in desert climates
relevance to water shortage issue
importance of regional architecture -- addressing resource problem through architecture, as well as technology

questions about this plan, even as i plan it
yes, water is scarce in CA, but then again, cali has the most coastal real estate of a single state in the US. surfer culture, beach houses, boardwalks...it's all there. my argument that water needs to be explored and designed into the environment only holds for non-beach areas...does this make sense?
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