This pool, formerly featured in the AQUA Spotlight, is one of those projects that pushes the limits of residential building. Breathtaking in its simplicity, humbling in its inescapable beauty, this grand and uncomplicated design would not seem out of place at Versailles or in the Luxembourg Gardens.
It speaks for itself - a perfect black slab of water in two-point perspective reflecting open ground and a limitless sky. You can wax poetic if you like, or just look at it and feel the tranquility it conveys.
Builder Ted Rosbeck sums it up well: "The pool becomes a central figure, almost a piece of furniture like a fine work of art, yet it is completely functional. Complete with its 12-foot sun deck with built-in umbrella holders, this pool is designed to be enjoyed as well as admired . . . from all aspects.
"The clients requested that the pool be built similar to the Delano hotel in Miami. So we contacted Brian Van Bower with Aquatic Consultants. After getting guidance from Mr. Van Bower, we felt confident we could closely imitate the Delano while at the same time creating a unique perimeter overflow accented with black honed granite."
This elegant material was used to wrap the bond beam and bullnosed to meet up with the 12-inch rise of the perimeter overflow. It is complemented nicely by the jet-black Pebble Tec pool surface.
In a pool that has over 150 feet of overflow, the tile work at the perimeter had to be exact. According to Rosbeck, every inch of the black tile was laid with great precision by expert tiler Jeremy Bradshaw using laser and water levels to ensure a perfect crisp edge. The end result is a perfectly even plane of water that looks like ice.
"The pictures speak for themselves," he says. "There are very few pieces of art that one can jump into and enjoy as well as admire."
Island Pools & Spas
Category: Concrete pool or pool/spa combo
Project Location: Edgartown, Mass.
Date Completed: 2009