Dezeen Magazine

Brick pool house buried under a grass mound in the garden of a Kent home

Knox Bhavan conceals brick pool house beneath grassy mound

A grassy mound conceals this brick pool house, which architecture studio Knox Bhavan has designed to be "virtually invisible" within the grounds of a Georgian home in Kent.

Responding to the client's request for an unobtrusive structure, Knox Bhavan took advantage of an existing slope and retaining wall on the site to help blend the building into a wider landscape redesign by Lloyd Blunt.

Brick pool house by Knox Bhavan buried under a grass mound in the garden of a Georgian home
Knox Bhavan has created a pool house in the garden of a Georgian home

"Perpendicular to the house, when viewed from its windows, the pool building is almost unnoticeable, read only by its longitudinal brick spine," said the London studio.

"Viewed from above, it is subsumed into the landscape and virtually invisible," it continued.

Brick pool house buried under a grass mound in the garden of a Kent home
A grassy mound conceals the building

The pool house sits beside a paved area that surrounds a rectangular swimming pool at the centre of the garden. Its red-brick frontage rises upwards, creating a short colonnade that shelters a seating area.

"Beginning in a sweeping helix-like curve alongside the York stone path, the brick spine then 'unzips', with one side climbing to hold back the earth and the other responding to the swimming pool and forming its low frontage," said Knox Bhavan.

One-storey brick structure with a square opening leading to a changing room with wood cupboards
A storage area is finished with plywood

At each end, the brick wall lowers to form a short garden wall, before becoming a "barely discernible" line of snaking brick paving that borders the adjacent flower beds.

The retaining wall has been constructed from a blockwork system, while the roof has a timber structure, supporting a drainage mat that funnels rainwater to the perimeter to then be used to irrigate the land.

Steps on either side of the pool house lead up to its walk-on roof, which doubles as an elevated garden path for access above and around the structure.

Inside, the pool house contains a skylit shower, storage area and plant room, accessed via sliding wooden doors and timber shutters. It is finished with brick-paved floors that create a continuity with the external terrace.

Square opening of Kent pool house by Knox Bhavan
A colonnade covers the seating area

"The brick continues within to become the interior floor finish while the shower enclosure takes on a tube-like form, its walls clad in simple white tiles with natural daylight coming from a glazed circular opening above," said the studio.

"For the storage area, the finish is a simple screed floor and utilitarian plywood finish."

Bathroom with white walls, brick floor and circular shower
The structure contains a shower with a skylight

Founded in 1995, Knox Bhavan is a London studio led by Simon Knox and Sasha Bhavan. Its other recent projects include a flood-resilient house on the River Thames and the transformation of a school into two flats in London.

Elsewhere in the UK, architecture studio Surman Weston completed a pool house on a garden site in Surrey, raised on a concrete plinth to overlook the surrounding landscape.

The photography is by Knox Bhavan.

More images and plans

Knox Bhavan
Plan
Knox Bhavan
Section
Knox Bhavan
Elevation
A structure with brick walls, floor and ceiling and a wooden door
White bathroom with counter-top sink, toilet and brick floor
White bathroom with brick floor, circular shower and wood bench
Circular white-tiled shower with a skylight and black fixtures
Circular white-tiled shower with a skylight and black fixtures
Interior of a pool house with fitted wooden storage
Interior of a pool house with built-in wooden storage and white sink
Interior of a pool house with built-in wooden storage and white sink
One-storey brick structure with a square opening topped with planting
Curved brick wall with brick seating
Planted garden with wide paved steps and a curved brick wall
Brick curved pool house in the garden of a house in Kent
Brick curved pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick curved pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent
Brick pool house in the garden of a Georgian house in Kent