Howard Fields, renowned for designing water extravaganzas, has created a water spectacle at the Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach Resort located on the Caribbean coast of Puerto Rico. Howard Fields & Associates, founded by Howard Fields (Landscape Architect and Biochemist) in 1985, is a site design and aquatic engineering firm which has created an array of multi-million-dollar environments for five-star hotels around the world. In addition, Howard Fields & Associates (HFA) has achieved recognition with seven gold medal design awards involving other major world-class water features.

The Guiness Book of World Records has recognized the River Pool at the Hyatt Regency Cerromar Beach as the longest freshwater pool in the world. The 1,937- foot-long river pool is 526 feet longer than the Empire State Building is high. The water features at Cerromar Beach were both designed and constructed in nine months, despite the fact that the contractors who built the pool had never constructed a swimming pool before. This was one of many challenges.

The first challenge occurred when the Hyatt Hotels Corporation purchased the tired and run-down Regent Hotel at Cerromar Beach in Puerto Rico. Hyatt challenged Howard Fields and Associates to masterplan the site and develop a program to transform the hotel property into a popular, first-class resort. The next challenge was the nine- month schedule for the pool design and construction, especially since the General Contractor and pool builder, Fluor Daniels Construction, Caribbean Division, had no pool experience. Then came the final surprise: The team was well into construction of a major portion of the site when they discovered what was reportedly excellent ground was in fact a mangrove swamp. Needless to say, the Client was not interested in time or budget extensions.

The General Contractor joined with the HFA design team to "quickly install" over fifty concrete piles measuring 90 to 100 feet tall, and extra structure to transform the "Destination Lagoon" into virtually a pile-supported bridge. Differential settlement of the surrounding concrete and stone deck required special details for hinging the deck to the pile-supported pool. Fields remarks, "Fluor Daniels, with no pool experience, was a real team member and allowed us to deliver this project both on time and on budget."

Once in the Grotto, the lighting is dim and a glow emanates over the Spa, which is carved out of the rocks. Coconut trees grow through the opening, causing filigree light to sparkle in during the day and stars to tropically twinkle at night. Guests can visit the Spa or pass further into and out of the mountain, through a waterfall and into a rocky gorge surrounded by fluids of cascading colors of allamanda and Bougainvillea. The water in the Gorge is fast; upon exiting, thrill seekers pass under a bridge into a grassy-filled meadow where the river starts to meander. Annual color and specimen planting highlight the slowly moving water. Another bridge marks the end of the Meadow, where views change to lush tropical vegetation, with a last glimpse of the sea before plunging into the Destination Lagoon.

An Island with a gushing source, a water volleyball court, a swirling current and the "Coco Loco Waterslide" are all part of the end of the river. Coco Loco is a special waterslide that won "Best Waterslide in 1996" with a "old wooden stair tower" strategically located in a grove of coconut palms. The 187-foot fiberglass slide, manufactured by Rainbow, shakes and sways with the tropical winds and the plethora of guests sampling the experience.

On the land side, the River Pool is surrounded by a biological lagoon with ducks, swans and fish. An open-air Café borders one area and the formal dining room affords views through tropical trees and plants to a waterfall source which is romantically laminated in the man-made jungle. This biological lagoon appears to be a part of the River Pool but is actually separated beneath the bridges. The lagoon is maintained with a combination of vacuum sand filtration and biological beds of crushed gravel which filter slow moving water.

The site features secluded decks and over a mile of elegant Canterra Stone walkways that complement the plant palette design by landscape consultants EDSA; a myriad of big leaf ficas (banyan trees), fragrant plumeria and allamanda give a feel of a tropical rainforest. "Most of the plant materials used were from Puerto Rico. All of the trees were local and in fact collected by the crew from the hotel golf course, who used their tree spade and a lot of hand digging in the forest. We didn't have a landscape contractor, but the crew from the golf course at the Hyatt Regency Resort gave us the jungle and color for the River Pool," remarks Fields. The rockwork, including the mountain, the lagoons and edges of the River Pool, was constructed by Custom Rock International.

Site lighting posed an additional challenge because the saltwater environment attacks the standard electrical components. The desired effect was principally pure moonlight with some highlighting of the waterfalls and a glowing River Pool. Hydrel lighting fixtures were used to withstand the saltwater and create just the right sparkle of light. Low voltage fixtures were also used in the trees and Tiki Torches were lit to create just the right mood.

"The design philosophy was to make it fun, exciting and safe during the day and just plain romantic at night" explains Howard Fields. "Our goal was to create a naturalistic setting, resplendent with water to match the surroundings." The result speaks for itself. The resort is now very popular and tens of thousands experience the River Pool and its gardens year round. LASN

All photos provided courtesy of Howard Fields & Associates.