Month: July 2018

Swimming Pool Art

If we were to ask a group of people to make a list of things you can find on the floor of a swimming pool, the signature of a genius such as Pablo Picasso would certainly not be among their answers. Here are five projects that fuse swimming pools and art together, including a fashion icon’s first taste of designing a swimming pool, the ingenuity of plastic architecture, the work of a New York urban artist, and some dynamic and thought-provoking geometry.

On the floor of the swimming pool at Villa El Martinete is the great stamp of none other than Pablo Picasso. The artist painted and signed the swimming pool floor in October 1961, when the luxurious Malaga mansion was owned by his friend and famous flamenco dancer Antonio Ruiz Soler.

PICASSO_sevills_TheCoolPool

In 2013, Karl Lagerfeld temporarily swapped fashion design for pool design. Lagerfeld designed an evocative light constellation for the floor of the Métropole Hotel swimming pool in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Furthermore, inspired by The Iliad and The Odyssey, the designer created a poolside mural of a series of glass panels with images of models in traditional Greek dress.

EmanueleScorcelletti_TheCoolPool

The Argentinean artist Leandro Erlich is the creator behind “Swimming Pool”, a work of art in the gardens of the 21st Century Museum of Art of Kanazawa, Japan. At first glance, this piece appears to be like any other pool, until looking down and seeing museum visitors walking around quite happily –and clothed– under the water.

New York artist and social activist Keith Haring painted a permanent mural with images of mermaids, fish, swimmers and dolphins at the Carmine street public pool in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. Painted by Haring in 1987, the mural was restored a decade later by the artist’s foundation, a true icon of New York street culture from the 1980s.

HARINGpool_TheCoolPool

Architect Lee F. Mindel’s private pool at his house in North Sea, New York, features this impressive red cube, designed by American sculptor Tony Rosenthal between 1983 and 1984. The cube, which is poised on its tip, is made of aluminium and has a volume of almost 12 m3.

MORAN_TheCoolPool

A Pool for Taking in the Stars

There’s no paved road to reach this gorgeous place and you also have to cross a river (only possible in summer as the bed overflows on rainy winter days). Once there, you come across a rustic property, green for most of the year, filled with olive trees and rocks, and four simple buildings that have been painstakingly redeveloped.

A couple from Lisbon bought this property which they found in ruins and were keen to recover it, including the buildings the villagers had used for their rural activity for many years. The new owners decided to maintain the original structure and turn the site into a rural accommodation project.

Casas-Caiadas-trees_TheCoolPool

There are numerous similar buildings in the area, but most have been done up and converted into museums. Along the way in this delightful enterprising project, the developers were aided by architect Luís Pereira Miguel, who was able to harness the most beautiful natural state of the architectural and cultural heritage of the area and turn it into a peaceful place to wind down in.

Following the redevelopment of three separate houses and one support building, “Casas Caiadas” or ‘whitewashed houses’ has become an outstanding natural tourism establishment in the Portuguese region of Arraiolos. After the group of buildings was restored, in a project that had to be taken on in phases, a serene pool that recalls the feeling of venturing into the sea was included.

Casas-Caiadas-moonshape_TheCoolPool

The pool was designed in a half-moon shape, without edges and with a profile that starts at ground level and drops down to one-metre-plus at the deepest end. At nightfall, the sky affords the chance to take in the stars with exceptional visibility conditions. This, together with an elegant lighting design, makes a night at “Casa Caiadas” an unforgettable experience.

The extensive heritage recovery work undertaken at “Casas Caiadas” consisted principally of conserving what already existed, starting from cleaning the whole of the property and removing dissonant elements, waste and plant life or worn out objects. In terms of materials, ones identical to the original pieces were used or recycled, as in the case of the stone masonry and the old ceramic tiles.

Casas-Caiadas-chairs_TheCoolPool

Sand or glass filters – which to choose for your pool

The filter is a key element for keeping pool water crystal clear at all times. Broadly speaking, the filter system is responsible for cleaning the water in the facility and returning it to the pool in a perfect condition.

Filters can operate with silica sand or glass as the filter media. When the water passes through the filter the sand grains or small glass beads placed inside it retain any impurity present in the water and leave it in tip-top condition for use.

sand_glass_thecoolpool

Both sand and glass are very efficient filter systems, although there are some differences worth considering when it comes to choosing the option that’s best for your pool.

Sand is the best-known and most common filter media. It has been used for years and offers a great quality/price ratio. In general, silica sand filters will last for around 5 years. Because the sand tends to pack up, it is necessary to ensure proper maintenance and regularly check that the grains have not clogged together in order to guarantee maximum efficiency.

Glass, on the other hand, is a newer and less dense filter media than sand, meaning that approximately 15% less weight is needed to fill the filter. This weight reduction and the fact that the beads do not pack together translate into transport cost reductions and a longer filter life, up to 10 years.

Energy saving is another of the advantages of glass filters. Because the crystals don’t clog as much as sand, fewer washes are needed to keep the pool spotless, thereby consuming less water, electricity (if the facility has a heating system) and chemical products.

Got any questions about maintaining your pool? Send your query to the AstralPool team of experts today.

Pool K., a Pool with Panoramic Views in Grimbergen, Belgium

The owner of this 17th-century building had always dreamed of having a pool in his garden. Unfortunately, the size and poor orientation forced him, at first, to dismiss the idea and focus 100% on renovating his home.

However, the sale of the abandoned school on the next-door plot of land changed his plans just when work was about to start on this stately home in the Belgian town of Grimbergen.

Vercruysse4_TheCoolPool

Following the purchase of the school and the subsequent integration of the two buildings, sharing one single garden, he saw his wish come true thanks to dmvA Architecten.

The designers of the project used the roof of the old school to build the pool he so wanted on high, thus completing a project where two white blocks coexist on either side of an open green space.

Very sunny and pleasant, dmvA Architecten has achieved a hiding-place the customer can enjoy as he had always imagined. Fortunately, the solid structure of the reinforced concrete pillars and beams of the old school-building made it possible to install the pool up in the clouds.

Vercruysse2_TheCoolPool

In order to also have a clean image in the new pool, as with the design of the façade and the refurbishment of the building itself, the architects decided to cover floors, window sills, stairs and the pool body in white polyurethane. Together with the blue colour of the water, it gives a sense of peace and tranquillity.

The wonderful views of the surrounding area from this height increase the sensation of leisure and freedom. No doubt the owners are happy to end a hard day’s work with a dip on the roof of their new home.

Vercruysse3_TheCoolPool