This client wanted a unique swimming pool at Shawkemo Hills. They suggested placing it at the bottom of the hill, a short distance from the house. From there they could look across the moors with the pool in the foreground. Water bodies often feel right in lower ground. You’d intuitively expect water there. But we offered to locate the pool at the top of the hill closer to the house. A vanishing edge can work in any situation, but the hilltop allowed a more dramatic sequence of the water in motion. Walkways are carved through highbush blueberry patches. Cranberry bogs shimmer in the distance. The cabana, pergola, pool, and surrounding gardens give a wonderful setting for al fresco dinners, summer parties, or quiet mornings to read by the waterfall. Interesting note: the vanishing edge is (almost) perfectly level with a tolerance of +/- 1/32” over 24 feet.
Norton Preservation Trust, Greenman-Pedersen Survey, and Waterscapes – Jesse Dutra, landscape and pool construction.
Total Project Cost: $352k
Founder of a private trust for historic preservation
