The shelf
Blasting the shelf in the granite bedrock provided many design and construction benefits, including:
- Cost-effective design.
- Space to fully suspend the pool over a bunker, client leisure room, bar, and pool house.
- Energy-efficient installation (e.g. short plumbing runs, insulated concrete, etc.).
- Use of 90 per cent of the blasted granite for retaining walls.
- Simplified the pool engineering (not having to build the pool on a sloping cliff).
- Speedy construction (crews could work on the cantilevered decks around the cottage, while waiting for the shelf to be blasted).
Much of the site preparation centred on minimizing impact to the local environment. When working in any natural environment there is always an emphasis on lessening the impact of the activity taking place. For example, silt barriers were spread throughout the property to prevent any runoff of contaminated silted water from reaching the lake below. A great deal of time and expense was spent on protecting the existing native trees on the property as well.
Further, upon the completion of the major built components within the landscape, an emphasis was placed on restoring any area that had even been remotely impacted. The focus was to restore the once forest-covered landscape to a natural setting. Working with local arborists and forestry professionals, a plan was developed to ensure native species were used in the restorative areas. Ensuring the diversity of the ecosystem is maintained is integral to promoting the healthy growth of the forest over the years to come. Liberal applications of deep root fertilizer, paired with a newly installed irrigation system, ensure the plant material is kept healthy and develops into the surrounding mature forest.
Simple considerations such as garbage disposal were also challenging due to the remote location. For example, food waste had to be removed from the site on a daily basis so it did not attract raccoons or bears. If the animals became habituated with the site for food, bears, for example, would remain long after the project was completed.
Finally, as the cottage was also being built while the pool and landscaping were being prepped for construction, it had to be protected during blasting, concrete pumping, and throughout the overall exterior construction process.
