Ten tranquil pool houses that add luxury to gardens
Pool houses that nestle into gardens of homes around the world are the focus of this roundup, which includes a semicircular pavilion in the UK and a pink-concrete shelter in Belgium.
Pool houses are typically free-standing buildings designed to accompany swimming pools, providing swimmers with changing facilities and creating an architectural focal point in a garden.
Ranging from simple shading devices to more extravagant structures for resting, cooking and socialising, they vary in size and style and offer users the feel of a luxury summer retreat just by stepping outside.
Read on for 10 tranquil pool houses that add luxury to gardens:
Pembury Pool House, UK, by Knox Bhavan
Disguised as a brick garden wall, this pool house was designed by Knox Bhavan to be "virtually invisible" within the grounds of a Georgian home in Kent.
To achieve this, the building takes advantage of an existing slope and retaining wall on the site. A short colonnade shelters a seating area and leads into a skylit shower, storage area and plant room, while steps on either side lead up to a walk-on roof.
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Refuge, Belgium, by NWLND Rogiers Vandeputte
Coloured concrete forms the walls of this sculptural pavilion, which can be found beside a pool of water in a wooded garden in Flanders.
Intended to contrast the verdant surroundings, the pink walls also extend out around the swimming pond – a type of pool that uses a natural filtration system.
The Pool House, Canada, by MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects
Mies van der Rohe's seminal Barcelona Pavilion informed the design of this pool house, which MacKay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects created for a home in southern Quebec.
The minimalist structure features a material palette of concrete, glass and wood and incorporates a shaded terrace, gym and areas for changing and bathing.
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Modern Pool House, Spain, by Roz Barr Architects
Stone walls and trees surround this rustic poolside shelter, which Roz Barr Architects created on the grounds of a farmhouse in the Sierra Nevada region.
It has a whitewashed-concrete structure, built with vernacular construction techniques chosen by the studio to "respect both the local craftspeople and means of construction as well as the landscape and climate".
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La Grange Pavilion, USA, by Murray Legge Architecture
In Texas, Murray Legge Architecture designed a pavilion around the trunks of oak trees in the yard of a hillside house. Holes in its wooden canopy also allow branches to pass through it.
The structure shades an outdoor lounge and a dining space that stretches out across a single horizontal plane.
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Pool House, India, by 42mm Architecture
This concrete pool house in the garden of a New Delhi house has a smooth, curved shell that its architect designed to evoke "a pebble in the grass".
"Asserting its presence with a singular, bold and robust frame, this house sits impressively within its surroundings," said Indian studio 42mm Architecture.
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Heathside Poolhouse, UK, by Surman Weston
Heathside Poolhouse is a semicircular pavilion elevated on a round plinth in the gardens of a home in Surrey. It is lined with full-height sliding doors and crowned by a roof made of corrugated metal.
The curved form of the building juxtaposes the long, linear shape of the pool and contains space for a kitchen and seating area, a bathroom and storage, which Surman Weston framed with exposed Douglas fir.
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Poolhouse O, Belgium, by Steven Vandenborre
Steven Vandenborre opted for a chunky concrete structure and frameless glazing for this poolside building, which forms part of a house in Bruges.
The pavilion, which has a deliberately simple design, occupies a spot at the far end of the client's large garden, nestling in amongst the surrounding plants so that it is hidden from view.
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Shelter Island Pool House, USA, by General Assembly
Blackened wood clads the exterior of this cabin, which is designed as a garden retreat for the owners of a remote residence at the eastern end of Long Island.
The structure was divided into two volumes that are punctured by expanses of glass and linked by a central pergola and an external terrace that runs along its front elevation.
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San Lucas Pavilion, Spain, by FRPO
Architecture studio FRPO designed this Spanish pool house to accompany a group of residences on the outskirts of Madrid.
While providing shelter for swimming, the gridded concrete structure also contains white-tiled counters for food preparation and cooking.
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