This heated geometric pool, with its extensive infinity edge, provides the perfect place to daydream while looking over Pittwater towards Lion Island. The pool beautifully reflects the harbour, garden and house lights at night and mirrors the vegetation of the gardens during the day. This state-of-the-art project was designed by A Total Concept and built and landscaped by Mahony Group.

The surrounding, partially shaded poolside entertaining area has all of the necessary entertaining and recreation features needed, including inbuilt lounges, gas flame torches and firepit. Together, the pool and gardens make a bold design statement that showcases the stylish contemporary home to create an outdoor masterpiece.

Being on the waterfront, the home only had access by inclinator, so the pool was excavated by hand and small machinery used, which had to be delivered by barge. More than 140m3 of spoil, including an old pool that was hidden under the ground, was excavated and then removed by barge. Due to the small size of the site, there was no room to stockpile materials, so once all structures were built, 30m3 of filling material was then brought back by barge to backfill spaces.

All floor and wall junctions were square with no radius, so cutting off the pool shape was a detailed task. This was specified to allow for interior 1200mm x 600mm large-format tiles for the pool to provide a very different look. The tiles, a black natural stone product with a black epoxy grout, change from black to blue to green to grey and mirror the colours and moods of the sky and nearby harbour, depending on the prevalent weather conditions.

The surrounding paving is an ash-coloured large-format stone that sets off the contemporary geometric shapes of the pool, poolside paved area, inbuilt lounges and firepit. Glass fencing has been kept to a minimum so as not to obstruct the water views of a moat between the pool and elevated home and attached entertaining area.

The gardens are planted with numerous water-wise native and succulent plants, the shapes of which contrast and soften the angles of the contemporary design and act as an attractive backdrop to the pool when viewed from the home.

The Mahony Group is a Sydney-based, family-owned company with four divisions under the one roof: residential construction, landscaping, pool construction and maintenance. The Mahony brothers have grown the business, established in 2003, into a successful, industry-leading company. “We take a holistic approach to residential construction,” says managing director Ben Mahony. Whether it’s a new home, pool installation, renovation or landscape project, the experienced team can manage the entire project from start to finish.

“We’ve built our business on being genuine, good people who are easy to work with and always willing to go above and beyond for our clients,” adds Ben. “Our staff genuinely care about what they do and we focus on listening and responding to your needs, which contributes to a far more enjoyable process all round.”

What sets The Mahony Group apart is its ability to manage the entirety of a large project under the one roof. The peace of mind you get from only dealing with one party throughout the various stages of the project is invaluable. “There are no separate companies for each element of the build — we do it all and we keep you informed to ensure our focus and attention to detail align with your expectations,” say the team. Their bespoke service will have your new pool beautifully integrated in one holistic design.

The Mahony Group is a sponsor of the Poolside 2022 Australian Pool of the Year Awards, celebrating excellence in pool design and construction. All entrants were featured in Poolside 57, with winners to be announced in Poolside 58.

For more information, 

The Mahony Group 

The post A heated geometric pool, boatshed and garden make up this waterfront property appeared first on Completehome.

By definition, “equilibrium” is a state of rest or balance between several different influences. As with all of Equilibrium Pools’ designs and projects, this one, nicknamed Neridah’s Way, is aligned with the company’s philosophy: a balanced lifestyle.

The owners of Neridah’s Way, a young family in Mount Colah, Sydney, requested that their swimming pool be positioned to complement their house and provide a continued open living area. In addition, the owners envisaged an area where they could relax and enjoy family fun or entertain, but were also chasing a “wow” factor. They wanted an aesthetically pleasing, architectural design that worked in with family ergonomics.

Their rectangular site was approximately 800sqm. “We were space-conscious, using contemporary symmetrical lines to allow for a quality amount of yard space for the family,” explains Rob Rooney, director of Equilibrium Pools. “The advantage of this saw us providing a geometric shaped pool spacious enough for family and guests to enjoy, yet one that was not going to dominate the surrounding landscape. We believe that in our design, we’ve achieved seamless flow between the pool, house, and the surrounding landscape.”

This contemporary, geometric-shaped pool stands out from the crowd in a number of ways. One is through its holistic design incorporating the house and landscape, central in pulling all those aspects together as one. Another is through the use of different materials and having them complement each other.

The landscape was designed in-house at Equilibrium Pools. “From a design and structural perspective, we work together with our clients to achieve the best outcomes for their requirements,” says Rob. “This landscape enhanced the existing space by providing privacy from neighbouring properties while visually removing boundary fences and other aspects of the yard.

The raised planter box to the pool is timeless and appears like it has been set in stone for many years previously, and incorporates Equilibrium’s three-spout water feature design. The water feature is copper, custom-designed by Equilibrium Pools, and its position and location in the landscape relate back to the house.” The feature blade wall is versatile in its positioning, offering both design aesthetics and privacy from the neighbouring property.

Two bench/swimout areas in the geometric shaped pool offer opportunity for rest and relaxation, and the bench in the deep end supports Equilibrium’s spa jet package. Meanwhile, the raised decking space adjacent to the pool provides an alternative level and warmer contrasting materials, while incorporating the surrounding landscaping aspects of the project.

An 8kW solar system also features on the roof of the house. The pool and heating operate during times of the day when the system is making peak power.
Architectural challenges centred around positioning the pool in the perfect location to match the future house build. Also important were providing the best possible privacy from the neighbouring property through the blade wall and having that comply with regulations and the client’s requirements. Engineering challenges included digging up a buried car while excavating, and providing the appropriate expansion allowances between pool and house.

“We consider innovation, aesthetic appeal, balance, simplicity and amenity to be essential principles of quality design in creating a balanced lifestyle,” says Rob. “From beginning to end, the Equilibrium Pools’ team collaborated with the clients in creating a balanced lifestyle they can enjoy year after year.”

“To us, the principles of good design revolve around three key areas,” says director of Equilibrium Pools, Rob Rooney. “Design aesthetic, which takes into account site conditions and the variables, constraints and opportunities it may present and then maximises the design intent/layout/outcome in as creative a way as possible. The client brief and budget are the next essential components of good design principles and need to help shape and form the design process. The last key area is the ability of the project to be practically completed. The design needs to be able to be achieved, so a sound understanding of the construction requirements and techniques involved is essential.”

Rob Rooney started Equilibrium Pools in December 2016 and works on approximately 20 to 30 pools per year. Equilibrium Pools works throughout Sydney but particularly across the North Shore, Northern Beaches, Eastern Suburbs and Hills District.

Creating unique, custom-designed concrete pools with very personalised service is the team’s specialty. “We also do a lot of tight-access projects where it’s not possible or practical to gain site access with standard-sized excavation equipment,” says Rob.

Initial site meetings with clients are very detailed. “We cover aspects of design, functionality as well as advice such as servicing, equipment, surface finishes and the construction processes in detail,” explains Rob. “Following our engagement, we continually work very closely with our clients on all aspects of the project and regularly keep them up to date with the progression of works. During this time we also liaise with our clients to finalise product selections and final details on any custom-designed components of their project.”

This project is an entrant into the Poolside 2022 Australian Pool of the Year Awards, celebrating excellence in pool design and construction. All entrants were featured in Poolside 57, with winners to be announced in Poolside 58.

For more information, 

Equilibrium Pools 

The post This geometric shaped pool stands out from the crowd appeared first on Completehome.

A Total Concept Landscape Architects & Swimming Pool Designers was engaged by the owners of this property to design then manage this integrated pool, boatshed and garden areas — a small space that belies the complexity of the construction of the project.

“We undertook the designs, obtained building approval, provided detailed specifications for all aspects of the project, recommended and organised the pool builder and landscape contractor,” recalls John Storch, principal of A Total Concept Landscape Architects & Swimming Pool Designers. “We then undertook the management of the project’s construction for our clients.”

Being on the waterfront, the home only had access by inclinator, so the pool was excavated by hand and small machinery was used, which had to be delivered by barge. More than 50m3 of spoil, including an old pool that was hidden under the ground, was excavated and then removed by barge. Due to the small size of the site there was no room to stockpile materials, so once all structures were built, 30m3 of filling material was then brought back by barge to backfill spaces.

The pool was constructed without any internal curves and the concrete was poured rather than sprayed. This was specified to allow for interior 1200mm x 600mm large-format tiles for the pool to provide a very different look. The tiles, a black natural stone product with a black epoxy grout, change from black to blue to green to grey and mirror the colours and moods of the sky and nearby harbour, depending on the weather conditions.

The surrounding paving is an ash-coloured large-format stone that sets off the contemporary geometric shapes of the pool, poolside paved area, inbuilt lounges and firepit. Glass fencing has been kept to a minimum to not obstruct the water views. The extensive infinity edge of the heated pool provides the perfect place to daydream while looking over Pittwater towards Lion Island.

The gardens are planted with numerous water-wise native and succulent plants, the shapes of which contrast and soften the angles of the contemporary design and act as an attractive backdrop to the pool. The geometric style of the pool reflects the harbour, garden and house lights at night and mirrors the vegetation of the gardens during the day. Together, the pool and gardens make a bold design statement and showcase the contemporary home to create a total concept.

For more information 

A total concept 

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