A friend of mine is an environment artist. This is what we've been coming up with lately...the thing in the center is supposed to be a fixed water feature/coffee table.
A materials mockup. The planter area will invoke images of ruins of an old roman wall--this is in its pre "ruined" phase.
The deck/terrace will actually have a curtain wall of rough textured block, built using three keystone arches over the water on 5' tall support columns. The final plan will likely involve a woodbridge over the south edge of the pond and have much smaller north stairs.
I have an architect has hooked me up before on plans for my 2nd story addition that never materialized due to the credit crisis, and he knows concrete guys that will lay it.