T
he tradition of building extraordinary structures to enclose both public and
private swimming pools is centuries old, dating to the great Roman balnea or
thermae. Most Roman cities had at least one such building, which was central
to the public life of its citizens. Most private villas also included a bath
house.
Bridging the space between the main house and a new guest wing, this spacious
conservatory encloses a swimming pool, spa and ample space for relaxation
around an interior fireplace. Facing the great lawn on the one side and a more
intimate tree shaded space on the other side, it includes a cleverly-designed
"interior" passage to allow guests to reach the main house discretely, without
going outside.
The design of the pool house was produced in close collaboration with the project
architect. The architect produced rough sketches of his ideas for the new building
and then stepped back to allow Tanglewood to develop the design using their "know-
how" of conservatory and pool house construction. Back and forth went the ball, with
the architect continuously challenging Tanglewood to solve difficult design and detail
issues with increasing elegant solutions.
The resulting final design looks deceptively simple. On the one side, it is a
straightforward symmetrical "conservatory" building. On the other side, it is a much
more subtle blending of the new conservatory with the original shingle style
architecture of the existing home. The elegant design of the roof structure bridges
the two just as the pool house itself bridges the two wings of the house.
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