{"id":538674,"date":"2026-07-13T04:34:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T04:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538674\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T04:34:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T04:34:23","slug":"swimming-pool-designers-are-floating-a-new-blueprint-for-outdoor-recreation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/538674\/","title":{"rendered":"Swimming pool designers are floating a new blueprint for outdoor recreation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since the early days of recreational swimming, pool design has gone lengths, from simple rectangles and classic Greek-inspired contours to kidney shapes and wild grottos concealed by thick landscaping. And who remembers turquoise vinyl liners?<\/p>\n

Fuelled by postwar economic prosperity, more than 150,000 swimming pools were built at homes across California in the 1960s, according to a study by the University of Cambridge. In Los Angeles<\/a> alone, around 60% featured the eponymous kidney-shaped design. The 1980s brought in the era of the raised spa \u2014 a connected hot tub that became an enviable status symbol \u2014 before clean lines and geometric proportions returned in the 1990s. Resort-inspired zero-depth beach entries and infinity edges dominated the 2000s. More recently, however, pool design has shifted again. Technological progress, engineering breakthroughs and a growing emphasis on sustainability have informed spaces that feel connected to nature.<\/p>\n

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A \u2018swimpond\u2019 built in the English countryside. Photography: courtesy of Pond and Garden<\/p>\n

Today, the demand for natural pools is particularly prevalent in private residences. Their appeal is twofold, says Joel Scott of Clear Water Revival, a high-end natural swimming pool company founded by an aquatic ecologist. First, there is the design. \u2018These pools are often chosen for their more subtle, minimal aesthetics which are far more complementary to homes in, say, the UK,\u2019 he says. \u2018Traditional bright-blue pools are more suited to tropical surroundings rather than the home counties or the Cotswolds<\/a>. Natural pools are typically designed to look like water features or reflection pools.\u2019<\/p>\n

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A natural swimming pool and outdoor fireplace in Hampshire, England. Photography: courtesy of Clear Water Revival<\/p>\n

Tiling is chosen to mimic certain types of natural stone, so the water resembles an alpine lake or a freshwater swimming hole. A combination of deep blue tiling and rambling greenery creates a natural look that can be the centrepiece of a property.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the style. Then there\u2019s the substance. \u2018Our natural pools use beneficial bacteria and ultra-fine filtration,\u2019 says Scott, \u2018to keep water naturally healthy and free of the negative health risks that come from absorption of toxins.\u2019 This chemical-free alternative to traditional swimming-pool maintenance has captured attention in recent years, as clients become increasingly aware of the risks associated with using conventional chlorination a regular basis.<\/p>\n

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A Clear Water Revival natural pool in Wiltshire. Photography: Gareth Iwan Jones<\/p>\n

Natural pools have also grown popular in the hospitality sector.\u00a0At Beaumier\u2019s Les Roches Rouges, a waterfront hotel on the French Riviera<\/a>, a seawater pool carved directly into the rocky coastline is about as close to a wild swim as one can get in an enclosed pool. The hotel also features a heated freshwater lap pool designed by creative studio Ateliers Saint-Lazare. \u2018For many years, swimming pools were conceived as spectacular features \u2013 almost a symbol of prestige,\u2019 says Antoine Ricardou, founder of ASL. \u2018Today, expectations have evolved significantly. Travellers are no longer looking simply for impressive design. They are seeking emotion and a connection with the places they visit.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The seawater pool at Les Roches Rouges in Saint-Rapha\u00ebl, France. Photography: courtesy of Les Roches Rouges<\/p>\n

Seawater pools capture that emotion while keeping humans and sea life from colliding. \u2018Swimming there when the Mediterranean is alive with waves, hearing the sea break over the rocks and feeling the raw power of the elements is a rare, almost primal experience,\u2019 says Ricardou. \u2018It is a place that reminds us that sometimes the most beautiful swimming pool is the one nature has created itself.\u2019<\/p>\n

The concrete freshwater lap pool at Les Roches Rouges was designed as a natural extension of the brutalist building. Defined by simplicity and strength, it was never meant to be iconic, just as natural as possible. \u2018We did not design one swimming pool, but two complementary experiences \u2014 one is a work of architecture, the other a work of nature.\u2019<\/p>\n

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The seawater pool and heated freshwater lap pool at Les Roches Rouges. Photography: courtesy of Les Roches Rouges<\/p>\n

Infinity pool one-upmanship is another dominant trend in hospitality. With every vista and horizon more photographed and shared than ever before, an infinity pool is social media gold dust. \u2018People are now looking for things they simply can\u2019t find anywhere else, and social media has certainly played a part in that,\u2019 says Bianca Sharma, owner of Monastero Santa Rosa, a boutique hotel on Italy\u2019s Amalfi Coast<\/a>. \u2018Our infinity pool has remained so popular because it feels completely at home in its surroundings. Sitting on the cliffs of Monte San Pancrazio, it seems to dissolve naturally into the sea and sky. The intention was never to distract from the landscape, but to celebrate it.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Monastero Santa Rosa, above Conca dei Marini on the Amalfi Coast. Photography: courtesy of Monastero Santa Rosa<\/p>\n

Advancements in structural engineering mean designs like this can look increasingly dramatic \u2014 though none of the science behind the drama should be visible. \u2018An infinity pool is only truly successful when its technical achievement disappears,\u2019 says ASL\u2019s Ricardou. \u2018Its purpose is to create the impression that the water naturally merges with the horizon. When designed with restraint, it almost disappears, allowing the surrounding landscape to take centre stage.\u2019<\/p>\n

That advanced engineering can be used at both ends of the aesthetic spectrum. It allows for pools with \u2018spectacle engineering\u2019, which have grown in prominence over the past decade. Part of a recent wave of ultra-high urban pools and \u2018sky amenities\u2019, the Sky Pool in Battersea<\/a> is a prime example. Opened in 2021 at Embassy Gardens, in the ongoing Nine Elms development, the transparent acrylic swimming pool is suspended between two residential towers, 35 metres above street level. More recently, an 18-metre rooftop pool, understood to be the highest in London, opened at Shard Place in London Bridge.<\/p>\n

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The 18-metre rooftop pool at Shard Place, London. Photography: Nick Rochowski<\/p>\n

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The Sky Pool at Embassy Gardens in Battersea. Photography: courtesy of Ballymore<\/p>\n

These are as much about exhilaration as getting in a workout or cooling down. Opportunities to swim while eyeballing the apex of St Paul\u2019s, or watching a bustling street way down through a transparent floor, elevate modern pool design to new heights. Whether embedded in rock or suspended above the city, the contemporary swimming pool is no longer defined purely by function or form, but by experience. And that is perhaps the most sustainable trend of all.<\/p>\n

Read next: Five Greek homes are selling unique perspectives on the Aegean<\/a>
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