Design, functionality, and lay of the land
The client was given two NSP designs to choose from—mountain lake or modern contemporary. The client selected the former design, as with this NSP style the membrane is hidden by a layer of natural rock to create a rustic look as one would see when hiking or sightseeing along a mountainous coastline. The modern contemporary style is what some would consider being more like a traditional swimming pool design, including tiles, visible membrane, etc.
Many materials can be used to create either look; however, it is the design/builder’s job to determine what look the client is trying to achieve and which design would present itself in the most attractive way once the project is finished. Determining what the client wants can be accomplished through fact finding, site inspections, and meetings to come to the decision of which style will work best.
Many thoughts, ideas, and considerations go into building a NSP. For instance, where is the location of the home to the pool, what is the wind direction, and what type of foliage is nearby? Further, how many people on average will use the pool (and what are their ages), should the design incorporate a shallow depth, swim lane for laps, or provide a shallow and deep end? How about family pets, do they want to swim as well? This is possible because without chemicals all family members can enjoy swimming without the worry (e.g. those with sensitive skin or bathers with breathing [health conditions] such as asthma). Finally, in the winter, if there are any skaters in the family, NSPs can accommodate this as well, thus allowing them to be enjoyed year-round.
For the Okanagan gold rush project, a personal site inspection was the only way to truly understand what the projected proposal could entail in a visual sense. Seeing the natural landscape and the composition of the project site helped get the creative juices flowing. Inspection of the current environmental aspect and assets of the land are kept in mind with the thought of saving plants, trees and/or bushes, and reusing products such as screening of the current top soil and using other unique features provided by Mother Nature.
Keeping waste down by reusing and recycling various materials is important to each job. Less destruction and disposal of anything that can be revamped, reintroduced, or kept intact is what drives the heart of the project. Thoughtless acts of waste serve to counter balance the sensitivity of an environmentally friendly project such as this one.
The assessment process
An on-site assessment helped to determine a list of requirements unique to the project. This list included a set back from a natural creek, which flowed through the entire property and a minimum set back from the road to comply with the city planning department without hindering site access. It also determined there was an existing fish pond on the property, which was not to be disturbed; a 36.5-m (120-ft) ponderosa pine was to be saved and incorporated into the design; and the location of the gold rush cabin, its footings, along with the location of the necessary utilities (e.g. power supply, and storm sewers for overflow).
Another major consideration was dealing with the high water table, which ended up being 0.3 m (1 ft) below the water surface of the proposed NSP. This was established after performing a soil sample, which showed the different layers of the ground structure at the time.
Finally, the underground creek bed was also determined to have the potential of creating an unstable environment on which to build; therefore, the project site was going to require special handling (e.g. dewatering, stability, and pouring a concrete slab at the bottom of the cliff area to avoid underground erosion) to complete the job successfully. For instance, to stay ahead of this challenge, dewatering was required throughout the entire build.
Another test was performed with respect to the fill-in water to determine which filtration strategy would work best. This helps to determine how much space could be devoted to creating attractive wetlands for the property’s natural habitants (e.g. birds, frogs, water fowl, etc.). It was important the project did not disrupt Mother Nature, but rather enhance its beauty.
The design process
At this point, the project was left in the hands of the design team to meet several times with the client to gather additional information and create a plan based on their desires, yet keeping in mind the challenges of the project site.
During these meetings it was determined what the client wanted with respect to specific features and attractions. For this project, the design process was split into two categories: pond features, and surrounding backyard landscape features.
The pond features included a main NSP area comprising a minimum 232 m2 (2500 sf) with an additional 232 m2 for the filtration/regeneration zone. The NSP was to also include a deck with a swimming platform on an island, a 0.6-m (2-ft) waterfall for visual and audio esthetics, a 2.1-m (7-ft) deep underwater cliff, a plunge pool in the filtration/regeneration zone with natural stone seating, a dock for sunbathing or foot dipping, a special sun tanning rock in the second waterfall area, bubble rocks, and entrance/exit points for swimming by the family dog and future grandchildren. In this case, it was determined the pool would have a gradual water depth from 1.5 to 3.3 m (5 to 11 ft) to provide a number of areas for dipping, plunging, and swimming.
Some of the out-of-water landscape features included a putting green with a sand bunker, an outdoor kitchen with a gazebo structure, and an arched bridge connecting the island with the gold rush cabin.
Knowing groundwater would be the biggest challenge, with the help of a dewatering expert, it was determined the well points for this project would need to be at least 4.3 to 4.9 m (14 to 16 ft) deep for the project to even have the chance to come to fruition. Further, to support the divided area between the swimming space and the filtration/regeneration zone, concrete blocks would need to be installed to stabilize the excavated land. These blocks would also act as the base for the underwater cliff in the island and the deck. It was also determined a utility access would be required to control the high water table in the future.
The design team worked on the general plan to integrate all of the client’s desires and project features into a sketch. This would be the base from which the final drawing would be created. To create a ‘wow’ factor, the project needed to be esthetically pleasing in such a way that it looked natural. Therefore, the drawing needed to communicate to the client that the introduction of the water feature, landscaping, and gold rush cabin could have existed before their house was built on the property.
