6 minute read
The Pool House
The winner of the ‘Best project under £300k’ award at the recent Property and Construction Awards, The Pool House was a small project which had big ambitions. With an initial brief to create a flexible entertainment space, the architect could have kept it simple; instead he created a unique structure, which has added to the appeal of the main house while offering something special of its own.
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When the clients approached architect David de la Mare about the project, they told him they wanted to create a covered entertainment space in an under-utilised corner of their garden next to their swimming pool. Benefiting from the end of day sunshine, they had a vision of a space that could be used for inside dining in the winter and as an open-air pool house in the summer.
For David, it was a project that offered some interesting opportunities: “We could have done something fairly simple with that brief, but the client was quite adventurous and was looking for something more dynamic and interesting. They wanted it to be something quite special and unique, which is the approach we always want to take with our projects, so it was a good fit for us.”
Abutting the main house, the new space needed to use the existing building and surfaces while adding to its overall appeal. For David, there was also the need to marry his work to a previous design: “The house itself had previously had a substantial amount of work done to it in a certain style so our design needed to fit in with that. At the same time, we wanted it to stand apart as a new addition. Luckily, we were all keen on using Crittall style windows as a defining feature so that gave us a good starting point.”
There were a number of practical considerations to take into account with the site, including height constraints to the boundary and a limit to its footprint due to the pool filtration equipment. But the main challenge was the location itself – an area of the garden which could get extremely hot during the summer but would also be cold and windy in the winter.
For David, the concept was clear from the first sketch: “From the start of the process, the design included the idea of a canopy to create shade and shelter from the sun when needed. But at the same time, we wanted to propose a space that could be fully enclosed. Our solution was to use a heated marble wall inside the space to make it usable and comfortable in the winter, but with a pivoting door that can open it up in the summer while also providing solar shade or shelter from rain.”
That pivoting door became a focal point of the project – both in terms of the appearance of the building, and the challenges it posed. Adrian Tourtel is the managing director of Stainless Steel Fabrications. For him, it was exactly the sort of project he enjoys: “It was very challenging, but it was a really enjoyable project and great to do something so different. From the initial meetings with the engineers, it was clear that we were really going to have to put our minds to how we could make it work.
“The initial concept included pulleys and more manual handling of the door, but it soon became clear that wouldn’t be practical. From a safety point of view, using hydraulics was necessary and then we needed to work out how to make that effective. At the same time, the appearance of the door needed to be married with what was needed from a practical point of view.”
Along with the technical challenges of that door, the design also called for plenty of input from Adrian and his team, as David explained: “The design involved a fully exposed 200mm structural steel frame. As well as supporting the enormous 3.2 metre square horizontal top pivot hydraulic door, it also supports a 3.2 metre high vertically pivoting door. All of that was designed, fabricated and assembled locally. Architects and engineers can only do so much though, and it was Adrian and his team that really made it work and importantly, made it safe.”
For Adrian, once the planning was complete, he had every faith that his team could successfully construct and install it: “A lot of work went into this project – for such a small area, the amount of detail was more than you see in some houses. But for us, the manufacture itself was relatively
straightforward. Once it was built, however, it was too big to be manually handled so we had to crane it in. Fine tuning it took some time, but I had every confidence that it would work.”
And work it does – providing a very distinctive addition to the existing house, while cedar cladding wraps the two together to form a new whole.
Inside the space, along with the feature marble wall the room incorporates an indoor BBQ and fridges within bespoke leather wrapped units. All internal materials are waterproof so it can be treated as outdoor space, or closed up to provide a more intimate dining area. LED lighting has been used extensively to wrap the floor, walls and ceiling and form a break between changes in material.
For something designed to look simple, there were certain complications, as David explained: “While the structure itself posed the main challenge, there were smaller challenges inside the space, particularly in co-ordinating what needed to be in there while still wanting it to appear very clean and minimalist. Having a BBQ inside poses its own issues such as needing carbon dioxide alarms and adequate ventilation, but I think we managed to achieve a practical space which has still retained the appearance the client was aiming for.”
For David, it was a help that the space was classed as an outside space when it came to the requirements they needed to meet: “While the space is built to a very high standard, because it is a garden room we didn’t need to comply with all the building regulations we would have needed to for a habitable space. It would have been much harder to create the space we have if thermal requirements etc had needed to be met. This is a wet room, but it is also a heated space which makes it very usable for the client.” The end result has met not only the practical requirements of the original client brief, but the design objectives of David and his team: “This building is unique, fun and probably completely over the top, but it is also hugely complex and has been a massively challenging and exciting undertaking for all involved.”
For Adrian, it’s also an endeavour to be proud of: “A project like this might look simple and easy at the end, but that certainly belies what went into it. But we don’t always want straightforward solutions - my team and I love the challenge of something like this and it’s a project we will look back on with pride.”
THE CONTRACTORS
DLM Architects Alan Ellis Stainless Steel Fabrications Ltd Dorey, Lyle & Ashman Ltd Sarnia Roofing LG Tiling Surface Plaster P3 Facades & Interiors Dean Machon Tony Brown J H Mahy & Sons Ltd MHV Upholstery
