Llandudno

Designed for a wonderful house set high on the mountain, overlooking natural forest and the sea beyond, this pool forms the lowest terrace of a magnificent garden.

The swimming area is 17m long and weaves its way between a huge natural boulder and a water lily area. The wetland is set slightly lower with two overflow areas creating a rim-flow effect. The plants of the wetland form a fluffy backdrop to the forest along the one side, and ground-covers form a foreground if you look down from the house. The pool is 4.5m deep for scuba diving and the depth means that jumping off the 3m high boulder into the pool is relatively safe.

A number of new technologies were implemented in this pool. The floor drain-based vacuum system allows any debris to be brushed into the floor drains rather than vacuuming it out. The other first is that the deep water wetland doubles as a water tank so that in winter, rainwater can be stored in the pool, and as summer comes, the water level can drop without there being the need for filling immediately. This environmentally clever solution hopes to make the most of water from the house roof.