8 ★ FTWeekend 23 July/24 July 2016

House Home

B ritish architect Adam Knibb’sclients live in an idyll: a housejust outside Winchester,southern England, sur-rounded by bluebell woods

and approached via a long leafy lane. Ina corner of the garden, they inherited anundersized tennis court, of no use toanyone,andaskedKnibbtotransformitintoapoolandpoolhouse.

This being the UK, Knibb dedicated asmuch of the sun-catching area aspossible to the pool, which was custom-built to be deepest in the middle forwater volleyball. He then designed asleek cantilevered pool house, tuckedinto the woodland at the far westernboundary of the property. At one end,there is a solid building with showers,lavatories, gym and a plant room forpool equipment. The structure opensout into a flexible space, with an area forcooking and entertaining. Sliding glassdoors can be closed in bad weather butfolded back entirely when the climate iskind, allowing the pool house to inte-gratewith itssurroundings.

The building is clad in oak to echo thewoodland, and has a mossy sedum grass

from the familiar domestic interior intoan elemental space of hot earth, coolwater and warm air, without forgoingthe luxuries of dry towels, clean bath-roomsandcookingfacilities.

Jan Hamer, founder of Urlaubsar-chitektur (Holiday Architecture), aGerman website that showcasesarchitect-designed holiday homes, sayson the particular appeal of these add-ons: “The kids get the pool and I get thepool house . . . It can be any number of

things: a hideaway, a party room, astudy — whatever I need it to be. Thefunction of a pool house can’t be strictlydefined and they can be enjoyed in somany different ways. In fact, they’re theperfectmetaphorforaholiday.”

One stylish example is a two-storeypool house designed by Frank Andrewfor guests at his Borgo TranquilloCountry House in Le Marche, Italy. Itexploits the dramatic rolling terrain byproviding an upper floor, decorated like

a gentlemen’s club with a library, bar,fireplace and panoramic views. Theground floor is kitted out with a sauna,hammamandlargeblack infinitypool.

In the Austrian Alps, within aconverted sawmill on the shores oflake Weissensee, a striking modernistpool house can be rented as stand-alone accommodation. The BadehütteWeissensee was designed by Peter Jung-mann in 2007 and is constructedentirelyof larchwood.

At lastyear’sDesignMiami/Basel fair,Carpenters Workshop Gallery offered apoolhouseasasculpturalobject:Ateliervan Lieshout’s conceptually drivenwork,TheOriginalDwelling.

With its cave-like interior spaces,composed of a bedroom, playroom, bar,lounge and dressing room, and anaccompanying body of sculptures thatcan double as outdoor furniture, theidea is perhaps that in this non-rationalspace, beside a pool, we can return to amore instinctual self — ready to play,sleeporeatas thefancytakesus.

US architects are masters at creatingpool houses that appeal to our innerchild, by mimicking in miniaturethe extravagances of real homes.Connecticut-based Vincent Falotico andLouise Brooks have designed poolhouses up and down the east coast,Roz Barr’s pool building in the Sierra Nevada, Spain — John MacLean

Pool in Wannegem-Lede, BelgiumTim Van de Velde

‘It can be any numberof things: a hideaway, aparty room, a study —whatever I need it to be’

Architecture | Bespoke pool

houses are becoming an

important adjunct of holiday

and country properties.

By Emma Crichton-Miller

Out-of-water experience

roof so that, when looked down on fromthe mainhouse,Knibbsays, “itbecomespart of the landscape”. From the drive,a winding decked path offers a moreceremonialapproachtothepool.

Pools and their attendant houses arean important adjunct of country andholiday homes. Whether they are usedfor a few cloud-free weekends a year orevery day of a full blazing summer, theyoffer the opportunity to shift life away

A pool house in Biarritz, France, designed by Atelier Delphine Carrère — Antoine Huot

Glass-walledpool house inWannegem-Lede, Belgium,by LievenDejaeghereTim Van de Velde

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23 July/24 July 2016 ★ FTWeekend 9

House Home

Former sawmill in Austria designedby Peter Jungmann — Wolfgang Retter

adapting a New England vernacular tothe challenge of supplying changingrooms, spas, outdoor kitchens andsometimesentireguestquarters.

What is essential, Brooks says, is touse materials — stone, tile, brick — thatare hard wearing and resistant toweather, “so that doors can always beopen, with no barrier between indoorand outdoor”. Two examples of theirbrick-built pool houses can be found inMartha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, andGreenwich,Connecticut.

As in northern Europe, the ideal is tohave a pool house that can conversewith the surrounding architecture aswell as provide shelter in a storm. WhenHans Dewaele found himself in a new“blended” family with five teenagechildren, rather than extend hishouse, he and his partner decided tobuild a pool house in their garden. Themain house, in the Belgian village ofWannegem-Lede,wasbuilt in the1990s.However, rather than mimic its heavysaddleroof,architectLievenDejaeghereoffered a contrasting, minimalistdesign, with glass walls to maximiselight and a flat concrete roof that wascastonsite to fit.

Dewaele is extremely pleased withthis multipurpose addition to his home.“It isapoolhouse; there isabarandabigscreen for watching the football; but youcan also see the garden all around. Mydaughter had a 25th birthday party for60peoplehere.”

Another modernist gem is AtelierDelphine Carrère’s pool house for a cli-ent in Biarritz, France, with its coolwhite walls offering protection from thesun. For while Dejaeghere chose to

maximise his Belgian project’s exposureto the available sun and retain heatthrough insulation, pool houses insouthern Europe need to offer respiteandshade.

Roz Barr’s 2013 project was built forthe fierce summer heat of the SierraNevada, 30km south of Granada insouthern Spain. Her English clients hadbought a large tract of land and askedher to design a private home, together

with a pool and pool house, adopting abroadlytraditionalstyle.

From the main house, Barr created anew terrace which serves as the roof ofthe pool house, blanketed in naturalflora. Local Spanish limestone has beenused for the pool cladding while thepoolhouse has been finished with a tradi-tional white waterproof polished plastercalled tadelakt. Inside, the walls are pol-ished concrete and lime wash render,with showers and changing rooms. A

Our landlord is a nightmare. The servicecharges are extortionate and the place isfalling apart. I have heard that tenantscan club together and take over themanagement of the building. Is thiscorrect? The first option is that the tenantsform a company that applies to take overthe landlord’s management functions butdoes not take over the landlord’s ownershipof the building. The second option is that thecompany applies to purchase the landlord’slegal interest in the building. The price youpay will depend on a number of factors andit will need to be negotiated by two valuers,one who acts for the new company and onefor the landlord.Which option should we choose? Whetheryou qualify for either option is determinedby statute and will depend on the nature ofthe building, the number of tenants who arewilling to be involved and the nature of theirleases. You do not need to prove that thelandlord is at fault. If both options areavailable then your choice might depend onwhether you and the other tenants areprepared to make a capital investment inthe freehold of the building, which may beparticularly attractive if your leases need tobe extended, for example. Once you havedecided, you will need to serve a formalnotice on the landlord.But we would need to manage thebuilding? I’m pretty sure none of us hasany experience doing that. The tenantswould each have shares in the newcompany, but it would be sensible toinstruct professional managing agents tocarry out the day-to-day running of thebuilding. This will incur fees depending onhow much work they are asked to carry out.Generally speaking, is this a good idea?An independent landlord can often be aneffective impartial third party. By replacingthem with a company owned by tenantswhose interests are not always aligned, yourisk disputes with the other tenants.

Kate Chatters is an associate at Farrer & Coin London. The legal issues in this columnrefer to England and Wales

Property law: tenant takeover

gym at the back opens on to the land-scape, while at the front, in the open,there isaplanchagrill.

The pool and pool house weredesigned to fit around several old olivetrees and the water for the pool is keptclean through a low-chlorine natural fil-tration system. Barr says of the house,“because it is embedded in the land, it iscool.” In recognition of the ultimatesymbol of summer freedom, she adds:“It isnicenot tohavedoors.”

Architect Adam Knibb’s contemporary pool house blends in with woodland in Winchester, England — Ben Savage

A pool house by Brooks & Falotico in Greenwich, Connecticut — Sarah Dorio

Brick-built structure in Martha’s Vineyard,Massachusetts, by Brooks & Falotico

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