Designing a rustic backyard escape

by Sally Bouorm | February 1, 2014 3:33 pm

By Markus Winkler and Karen J. Williams

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What does a gold rush cabin from the 1800s, mining cart, putting green, and a natural swimming pool (NSP/swim pond) all have in common? They are the focal point of an award-winning landscape design in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley. This project was not only filled with some challenging tasks, but was also highly rewarding in that a tranquil, beautiful setting was created for the client who was seeking something unique and environmentally friendly. So, what goes into a project of this undertaking, which won several design/build and environmental awards?

This project was aptly named the Okanagan gold rush as the client had a gold rush cabin they always wanted next to a lakeside setting. Living within a large-scale city, the client wanted to feel as though they could step out of their home and be one with nature without losing some of the luxuries city life affords. That said, it was quite clear a conventional swimming pool would not work for them, but rather something more natural to go hand-in-hand with the existing landscape and rustic-looking cabin. Therefore, a NSP, or swim pond as they are commonly referred, was a more viable option.

Many more questions needed answering; therefore, the steps involved in making this a successful project included: getting the answers, educating all parties involved, and then starting the project. The combination of rustic nature and modern luxury could be seen as a clash of the titans; however, when executed properly, there can be a seamless transition between the two to create a softening of the hardscape.

What is a NSP and how does it differ from a traditional pool?

Like all projects, there are hot buttons (e.g. items or features, which evoke an emotional attachment) from the clients as well as the design/build teams. Marrying the two together can sometimes be more of a challenge for the master (lead) designer than the project itself as things such as client needs and desires along with project feasibility, logistics, capabilities, timelines, budget, and maintenance all need to be kept in mind. A NSP is not unlike its traditional counterpart in many ways, but is built to leave a smaller environmental footprint, while preserving natural resources. There are ways in which a NSP will change the client’s thought processes as well. For example, plant life is one of the main components of a swim pond; therefore, maintenance is more like water gardening rather than cleaning as one would a traditional swimming pool.

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[3]With the introduction of plant life and natural filtration techniques to clarify the water, NSPs provide a waterway of enjoyment without the use of chemicals. There are similarities, however, as both pool types use skimmers, pumps, and water circulation to help keep them clean. As the water in a NSP is naturally filtered via plant life it becomes soft (as opposed to hard water in a traditional pool). Although NSPs may be a new concept within the North American market, they have existed for more than 30 years with more than 40,000 currently in use worldwide—both residential and commercial.

Educating the client and supplier

It is important to stress not just any plants can be used in a NSP. For instance, greenhouse plants at a typical nursery, which are given a healthy regiment of fertilizer so they grow faster for quicker turnaround, cannot be used. Introducing this type of vegetation into a NSP could have disastrous results as fertilizers can be full of phosphates (PO₄^3-) and nitrates (NO₃^–)—two things that should never be in the water at high levels. Therefore, it was important to educate the vegetation supplier, who was highly experienced in growing specific types of water plants, not only on what specific vegetation was required, but also what the plants needed to provide to the NSP. This is the basis of a balanced ecosystem and one of the reasons the water remains clean and clear.

In terms of the client, after explaining the details about the two types of swimming pools, once they understood the differences it was an easy choice for them to go with the NSP. Now came the fun part—prepping for the design.

Design, functionality, and lay of the land

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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

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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.

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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.

Presenting the design

After the initial meeting with the client, the design presentation involved explaining the benefits of the features in relation to the existing property and future usage. It was important the client did not feel as though there was a disconnect between their home and NSP. Therefore, bridging the hardscape and softscape in a way which brings harmony to the entire property—without any detachment—was the ideal goal. With a few minor adjustments, the client approved the design, and a working plan was established and put in place.

Preparing the land for construction was the first step in the working plan. This included, but was not limited to, the following:

• permits and regulations;
• contact of utilities for information regarding gas, water, and electrical lines, etc.;
• safety and Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) rules;
• property access;
• material supply and storage plans;
• equipment evaluation and supply;
• internal and external resources (sub-trades);
• material and supply lists;
• timeline and budgeting;
• special requirements; and
• troubleshooting preparation.

Of course, unforeseen problems can occur and must be expected. This is the foundation for a rolling working plan. For this project, the client had to approve various stages of the working plan so the official groundbreaking could begin once the permit was received. Each city, municipality, township, or county has its own set of regulations and governing bodies. Therefore, it was necessary to have meetings with the planning department to educate them on NSPs so they could determine whether a regular swimming pool permit would be applicable for this project.

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After receiving the permit, the property was prepared to proceed with the build. At this stage, another site inspection was performed to select which vegetation would be kept and reused or worked around to become part of the overall design. The goal was to include as much virgin plant life as possible to present a natural habitat for a healthy balanced ecosystem with respect to the zone and hardiness of the land. This not only saves the client money, but also gives the face of the project a starting point on the softscape plan.

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As the site clean-up commenced, the high water table challenge became apparent almost immediately; the soil was wet without much disturbance and meant it would only become more difficult once the excavation plan began. That said, keeping an eye on the weather forecast would also be imperative to the successful excavation process without the added challenge of water hindering the work.

With the proper start of the excavation, the proposed timeline for completion gave the team four months to create the Okanagan gold rush NSP project.

 

Editor’s note: In the April issue, Winkler and Williams will discuss various aspects of constructing the Okanagan gold rush natural swimming pool (NSP) project.

 

Markus Winkler is the master designer and lead strategist for PoolsByNature, a designer/builder of natural swimming pools (NSPs) in Kelowna, B.C. He has more than 12 years of experience in the field of NSPs. Winkler has an engineering background in electronics and has received extensive education with respect to environmental and aquatic applications. He can be reached via e-mail at poolbynature@gmail.com[9].

 

 

Karen J. Williams is the design analyst for PoolsByNature. She has more than 20 years of experience in environmentally sustainable product strategies and is a member of the design team responsible for the connection between licensee partnerships and end-users while working with the company’s master designer.

 

Source URL: https://www.poolspamarketing.com/trade/designing-a-rustic-backyard-escape/

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