The massive coral reef lap lane, the panoramic mural in the sauna, the scarf draping down the indoor pool steps and the iridescent tiles affixed to the giant, custom-made fiberglass sea shell perched over the entrance to the indoor pool comprise Craig Bragdy's largest residential indoor installation in the United States to date.
But they're not what Atlas finds most impressive about this poolscape with a 25-foot-long vanishing edge. "I'm most proud of the moveable glass wall that can drop down to separate the indoor and outdoor pools. It took such a significant amount of time, effort, engineering and money to actually make a wall that's safe, that met the owner's specifications and that actually worked, because it's not something you can buy out of the box."
In explaining the engineering challenges involved, Atlas says, "You have the different forces of the water pushing against it, both inside and out, and then you have the issue of lifting what amounts to a guillotine up and down in a swimming pool and the hydraulic force that it takes to lift this wall properly -- yet build in the safety features necessary." There'll be no worries about this wall getting stuck in a frozen pool since both the indoor and outdoor pools will be heated year-round.
