design et al are delighted to announce that Thompson + Baroni Architects have been shortlisted for Residential Swimming Pool Award in The International Design and Architecture Awards 2017.
This project involved a pool that would fulfil many objectives – to look beautiful in the garden, be a serious fitness training resource and provide fun and relaxation for the whole family. A heated swimming pool that was 20 metres long was required to enable proper swimming fitness training but also had a separate but connected spa area for fun and relaxation. The brief for the pool was to ensure that it would blend in harmoniously with the landscaping design of the garden. 
The clients wanted the pool to provide a beautiful yet dramatic visual feature. Thompson + Baroni Architect’s favourite aspect of the project was the Italian marble water feature wall with polished stainless steel, the illuminated waterfall provides an exciting but refined focus for the garden. It effortlessly combines all of the clients requirements and blends in the house and garden materials and finishes giving the appearance of an extension of the living space of the house.
The pool design integrates into the wider environment as it emphasises the length of the garden by its linearity and its location close to the boundary and allows the beautiful nature of the planting to almost enter the pool. It creates in a suburban setting the sensation of swimming in nature. There were many specialist skills needed for the delivery of this project including the skill of the pool company in locating all of the plant underground. The quality and precision of the marble feature and its installation. The subtle hiding of separate covers for the pool and the spa which disappear from view when the pool is not in use which also saves energy by keeping heat within the pool water.
