Movie director Frank Capra might have been on to something when he filmed one of the most memorable scenes of the 1946 classic, "It's a Wonderful Life." At a high school dance, James Stewart as George Bailey and Donna Reed as Mary Hatch tap and sashay — teetering dangerously close to the edge of a retractable gymnasium floor opening to reveal a full swimming pool. Before long, the couple tumbles into the water but keeps dancing while everyone else follows their lead and jumps in to join them.
Merriment ensues.
Even though "It's a Wonderful Life" celebrates its 80th anniversary next year, that pool scene is still mentioned in conversations about movable pool floor technology. Only today, hidden pools don't need to be covered by a floor; they actually are the floor.
The following 8 images detail the construction sequence for the Pittman Hotel movable floor swimming pool, as the substructure is poured and framed, the floor is laid, the pool is filled, and the elegant project becomes fully operational as both a social gathering venue and aquatic vessel. The landscape architect on the job is Talley Associates of Dallas.
Movable pool floor systems are nothing new. They've been around for decades and, given their high price tag that can exceed a million dollars, they always will appeal to a niche consumer. But manufacturers and installers report increasing interest in the technology from homeowners seeking the kind of versatility, convenience and safety that a traditional pool simply can't offer. Plus, there's the obvious "wow" factor.
"There are a couple of target markets," says Paolo Benedetti, renowned pool designer/builder and president/CEO of Aquatic Technology Pool & Spa in Morgan Hill, Calif., who not only installs pools with moveable floors but also is a consultant to other builders using the technology. "One of them is homeowners with high-value real estate that want to have a pool but don't want to give up the space. For one of our clients in San Francisco, their yard wasn't big enough to put a pool in, but they have space in the basement. So we're actually digging a pool in the basement, and when the floor is up, they'll still be able to use the space for parties, events and entertaining."
The other target market, according to Benedetti, is millionaires and billionaires. "They want that James Bond look," he says, a reference to 007 movies featuring a hidden pool. "They can have their friends over on the patio, and after everyone goes inside to eat, they come back out and there's a pool."
Then, there's the added versatility a moveable pool floor provides at just the touch of a button. The ability to adjust the depth can create a wading pool for young children, a sports pool for teenagers and a lap pool for adults. And when it's not in use, the pool becomes the deck. No pool cover required.
Multiple movable floor options are available, including ones with hydraulic scissor drives powered by water and others operated with cables and pulleys.
Benedetti says he vetted various technologies before he began installing movable floors and ultimately selected a product that combines elements of other movable floor technology. Hydrofloors, a product of the UK-based Twinscape Group, features a buoyant platform with stainless-steel beams for strong load capacity. When it is upright, the floor locks into place with spring-loaded, stainless- steel tapered pins, and full foam buoyancy packs are installed underneath the platform to make the floor float.
Unlike other movable pool floors, Hydrofloors technology pulls the floor down — rather than pushes it up — using a pulley system or scissor lifts operated with water-based hydraulic cylinders. The system is controlled by an intelligent touchscreen with pre-programmed depth settings, and it only uses energy when the floor is moving up or down.
"We allow the water to do the lion's share of the work, which is actually counterintuitive. We're pulling the Hydrofloor down through the water. If you think of a floating dock on a lake, you'll have a pretty good idea of how it behaves," says James Farrell, director of business development for Twinscape North America LLC, headquartered in Newtown, Pa. "In architectural circles these days, a popular term is 'passive technology,' which is technology that is most efficient in its natural state, and that's precisely what a Hydrofloor is. It's only under pressure when it's in descent."
The floor descends slowly, covering about 10 inches per minute — meaning that it takes about six or seven minutes to reach a depth of 5 feet. With a load capacity of 250 kilograms per square meter (or about 51 pounds per square foot), the floor is finished with 3-millimeter-thick stainless steel plates awaiting tile or some other finish.
"You could host a 100-person dance party on your swimming pool, and no one would know they were standing on a pool unless you told them," Farrell says.
'NO LONGER MYSTERIOUS' TECHNOLOGY
Installing movable floors requires a great degree of sophistication and a high level of supervision.
"They're typically built just like regular pools, but there's a lot more precision that has to go into building the pool shell," Benedetti says. "You have to have perfectly plumb vertical and square walls. We typically shoot the inside of the pool [with shotcrete] 2 to 3 inches larger in all directions. That allows our masons to float the walls out and get them perfectly true and plumb. We also tile the insides — because, with plaster, you're not going to get a perfectly vertical and smooth surface — and we want to make sure that we don't have anything that the floor is going to catch on as it moves up and down."
The movable floor usually is built in tandem with the pool, so it can be installed upon delivery.
"These are very high-supervision jobs," Benedetti adds. "I'm on the jobsite every day. And if it's a remote project, where I'm functioning more as a consultant for either the pool builder or the owner of the pool, I'm still there at least once a week making sure everything is right on — double-, triple- and quadruple-checking all the measurements."
Benedetti has emerged as one of movable floor technology's most knowledgeable and renowned design/build professionals, and he shares his expertise with others — drawing up mechanical, electrical and plumbing plans for builders he consults with, providing them with what he calls "a little more detailed roadmap."
While not every builder is suited for these types of projects (or even wants them), Benedetti predicts more homeowners will begin taking serious looks at movable pool floor systems, especially as more affordable pre- engineered design options become available.
"The technology is really cool, and it's really reliable," he says. "And so I think as more and more people see these projects, there will be more demand. A lot of my leads come from friends of past clients."
Farrell agrees. Hydrofloors, developed in the early 2000s in Belgium, has been available in North America for almost a decade, and the United States is now the brand's largest market. Watershape University even offers engineering courses on movable floors.
"The technology is no longer mysterious," he says. "Asking someone to lay [significant] money down on a technology that they may never have seen before was a great challenge in the beginning. Now, you should never again hear the client or architect or general contractor say, 'I wish we could have a pool on this project; there's just no space for one.' You can throw that argument out the window. There's always room for a swimming pool, because it can go anywhere."
This article first appeared in the February 2025 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
