2016 International Awards of Excellence
Superior Pools
Port Charlotte, Florida
9419154760
Superior Pools of Southwest Florida, Inc
Category
Installations in the U.S. & Canada > Miscellaneous Pool Categories > Screened Enclosed Residential Pools
Description
A few years ago there was a commercial that presented a couple who were sitting in the office of an architect to discuss the building of their new home. Shortly after sitting down, the wife pulls out a kitchen faucet from her purse, places it on the architect’s desk and simply says, ‘we’d like you to build us a home around this’.
In many ways, this project reminds me of that commercial. When first meeting with my clients they expressed a deep desire to make sure their spa had the capability of attaining proper temperature quickly. In essence, they wanted their project built around one feature: fire, or perhaps more specifically gas. Of course, doing so wasn’t as simple as it would appear. Their community did not offer any gas infrastructure. The answer was found in the installation of a large 500 gallon propane tank. Although we worked with the HOA for its approval, it was required to be buried. That’s where things got complicated. Given code requirements regarding setbacks from property lines as well as ignition sources like pool equipment or AC units, we were left with only one possible location….the far, right hand corner of the property. This area of course could not have been further away from our pool equipment, so a lot of pre-planning was involved to make sure all gas and electrical lines were placed prior to any stage of the project that would impede their installation. This fact also held true for finishing touches that were added near the end of completion such as landscape lighting in the rear planter area, along with surround-sound speakers.
Visually, their request took the form of fire. The entire pool/spa was built around a Bobe fire bowl. Positioned not only in the center of the pool but also perfectly framed on their kitchen window, where it would be visually enjoyed by them and their family when gathered in the busiest real estate of the house. The fire bowl not only provided aesthetic drama but functionality as a fire pit, set in such a way that the customer could easily place a number of chairs to sit around and enjoy a peaceful evening. To add further visual impact to this feature, we had our deck crew inlay a smaller set of travertine pavers to break up the French pattern of the pool deck. I also had custom ‘fire art’ made in the form of large lead balls, along with crushed blueberry glass to further draw your eye to the main feature of the project.
Our client also expressed a need for a hand rail to enter the pool and spa. Although we always incorporate an aesthetically pleasing Artisan hand rail, I was not crazy about the idea of having two of them. Thus, the inspiration was born for the layout of the pool’s and spa’s steps. I felt that if I incorporated the design of a ‘flush’ spa I could obtain two objectives. First, the pool would only appear larger, as the spa’s beam appears to hide within the surface area of the pool. Secondly, I could build steps into the spa for access, same as the pool, with the only separation being the spa beam. As a result, I could position the hand rail on the deck in the middle of said beam and allow the client to use it for either access into the pool or spa. Having it manufactured in a powder coated silver finish also helped it visually disappear against the backdrop of the premium-select silver travertine.
Given that the fire bowl was positioned in the center of the pool and the sun shelf with two Pentair Cascade LED bubblers, along with the spa were offset to the left hand side of the pool for both visual interest and to face the western setting sun, I felt that I could offset two other features on the right hand side of the design. The first being five Bobe radius scuppers. I positioned them from the top of the raised pool beam to allow them to be ensconced by the beautiful Oceanscape tile. You’ll notice we also finished the top of the structure in this same tile to provide a ‘knife edge’, contemporary feel. With the installation of a large flush planter behind the water feature (finished with black Mexican pebbles and Red-Ti plantings for color contrast), the water feature beam appears to ‘float’ within the pool deck. The raised structure was also purposely curved, along with the bottom right hand corner of the pool to play off the round Bobe fire bowl for added symmetry.
The second feature involved the incorporation of four built-in bar stools. These stools not only sufficed as the customer’s code required ‘swim out’ but after being wrapped in glass tile and finished with granite tops, provided additional eye-candy. Their location provided our customers with two vantage points, one of the stunning view behind the property and the other of the outdoor TV and sitting area by their covered patio space.
Of course what good is a beautiful pool without an awesome view? To further enhance our customer’s view of the lake and golf course, we incorporated a two foot transom wall of screen by their truss lanai. This extended their screen enclosure walls from 10’ to 12’ and raised the header beam of the picture windows that were installed around the entire perimeter of their pool deck. Between the taller ceiling heights and the wide-open spans of their picture windows, the customer was provided with a panoramic view of their beautiful property.
Winner Status
- Bronze
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