Pools

Architect Guilherme Machado Vaz decided to repeat the square nature of the House in Afife when designing the swimming pool.

To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.

Masi also turned the miniscule guest quarters into a pool house.

@mon_palmer: A decision to change our sliding door to steel bifold windows opened up a completely new option as to how we could design our garden. The before and afters are dramatically different.

The pool juts out perpendicularly from the main house; the land was bulldozed to become level with the concrete pavers.

Wright Feldhusen Architects designed this house for a client that loves to swim. A lap pool connects the home to the ocean that lies beyond the property in Maroubra, Australia, a suburb of Sydney.

The reflecting pool is surrounded by foliage and breathtaking views of the bay.

To the south, a small soaking pool sits outside Austin’s studio, where he’ll often lie and meditate: “I’m a great floater, and can look at the clouds for an hour everyday,” he says. The adjacent wall was coated with smooth sand plaster finish to accommodate video and film projections by night.

Sophie and Colin enjoy their new pool, the only non-solar-powered portion of their home in Venice, California, created by their father, architect David Hertz. Read the full article here.

Day takes a swim in a new lap pool framed by a lush Southern California garden. The lower wall next to the pool is made from stacked Pennsylvania bluestone, which was used for all exterior stone as well.

Their property features an abundance of local flora and fauna. “We have deer that come from Griffith Park through our garden,” Judith says.

The inner courtyard is the core of the home.

A swimming pool was on everyone’s wish list. Gray Organschi installed it on the east side of the house, along with an outdoor fireplace. The outside pathways and decks are paved in ipe and bluestone.