Gloucester, MA
This contemporary pool, spa and pool house rest serenely upon Gloucester’s rocky shores, achieving the client’s dream of a retreat set apart from the main house, yet joined with nature.
The owners of this coastal estate approached ZEN Associates to design a swimming pool, pool house and year-round spa for entertaining and exercising. Together, we explored different ways to integrate it all into the property, making sure that the new structures would blend seamlessly from the main house to pool house to dramatic oceanfront.
Partnering with the architects, we sited the pool house in the former footprint of a shed. We centered the pool in front to create a strong visual and physical connection to the interior space and create site lines to the water. We also elevated the pool to keep everything on one level and minimize blasting ledge, then eliminated the enclosure fence to bring the ocean even closer.
As Peter White says: “You don’t have to settle for a pool in a yard with a fence. Your designers should stretch their imaginations and produce something outstanding.”
“Outstanding” often comes down to the small details, like automatic pool and spa covers to conserve heat and minimize debris. Or the most advanced filtration and sanitation systems (we recommend ECOsmarte and AquaRite) using ozone, ultraviolet light and salt minerals along with a natural gas boiler.
This project has been featured in several publications and was the cover story in Northshore magazine’s Home Life issue, March 2013.
