Lynwood Therapy Pool – Devon, England
Title
Lynwood Therapy Pool – Devon, England
Designed by
OEB Architects
Image Credit
© Nick Dearden
Website Source
Project Description
Project Description provided by E-Architect - OEB architects was approached to design a Therapy Pool for a client affected by chronic back pain, which had left them unable to move or rest comfortably, let along walk down the steep steps to the pebble beach for their usual swim in the sea. The pool enables them to undertake daily physiotherapy for operation prep and recovery without having to drive, as well as providing the opportunity for regular doorstep exercise for both of the couple as they get older. The site lies within a terraced front garden of a Victorian villa on the Jurassic Coast. Aiming to appear uncontroversially contextual from a distance, the building was placed perpendicular to the house to enclose a new south facing paved terrace, using materials that match the house in tone. The simple rectangular shape of the pool building is chamfered at the corner to preserve the sea view from the table in the kitchen behind, a corner of the home full of activity throughout the day. We were interested in how to make a building that both felt at home in its surroundings of a well-loved English garden, and yet dreamt of somewhere else more mystical. The design draws on the tradition of the renaissance grotto, artificial watery environments that often take the form of a rougher version of the house to which they relate: Recognisable classical elements are translated into unusual materials and encrusted shapes, signalling the entrance into a cool subterranean interior. Rather than using the stone and mosaic of historical examples, we used timber frame, insulation board, and render to make relief and texture – economical, quick, and energy-efficient, and to investigate the expressive potential of contemporary construction methods and materials. The relief on the elevations is formed in varied depths of insulation, making a rhythm of arches that relate to the openings of the existing house. The first arch lends grandeur to the entrance, while the series of reflected arches along the long elevation hint at the wateriness within. The combed application of the render makes rustication appropriate to the English seaside: a hand-made texture with a happy resemblance to soft-serve ice cream. From a garden-level entrance and changing area, steps lead up to the pool edge. Windows sit at pool top level with views out across the garden from within the water. The interior is a cave-like dark grey, brought alive with liquid reflections. The arched window in the far end reflects as a full circle in the stillness, before shimmering away as you descend into the water.
