Mount Martha Pool, Residential Spa Australia, Architecture, Images

Mount Martha Pool in Australia

Contemporary Australian Home Spa – SPASA

23 Aug 2016

Mount Martha Swimming Pool

SPASA – Awards of Excellence 2015

Location: Mount Martha, Melbourne, Australia

Category: #3 – Best Residential Concrete Pool over 100K

Degree of Difficulty & Innovation

• The slope of the block was a major factor in the construction of the swimming pool and spa in this project. Engineering called for sub-surface pool footings to be installed before the pool was formed up and caged. The formwork would then be pinned to the concrete footings to create the strength in the formwork considering the pool is 50% out of the ground.

• The cantilevered structure over the spa was custom engineered in collaboration with the swimming pool engineer allowing the concrete pool/spa shell to provide a footing for the structure. We would have never been able to achieve such a significant cantilever of some 4.5 meters without using the weight and size of the pool shell. This was a tremendous feat.

• The raised spa with wet edge feature was designed to spill over into a gutter located underneath the paving surrounding it. This meant that the nearest bluestone paving tiles would need to be able to be removed in the event of any sort of debris blockage. It was decided that these tiles would be fitted on versipave supports. This system would allow tiles to be removed at any time with complete ease but would also allow the spa water to fall through the ungrouted paving joints between tiles. The result is that we were able to take the surrounding paving right to the wall of the spa with no need for an unsightly spill grate or the like.

• The major feature of the swimming pool is the wet edge feature that runs along its 12m length. The precision in forming up/spraying and tiling a wet edge of this length takes top quality tradesman ship. Considering that water will always find a level it was so important that this edge was dead level. As you can see in the images this was achieved and the results are stunning.

Swimming Pool/Spa Details

Details of other equipment (i.e. ladders, lights, heater, automatic cleaners and chemical devices):

• Lights: Spaelectrics Wn950 series LED light (4)
• PCC 2000 – infloor system
• Coulson’s 48mm ceramic tile
• Sunbather Solar Heating
• Pentair Tagelus 100D Filter
• Pentair Intelliflow variable speed pump
• Puresilk salt chlorinator with the Chromaterlizer (CMS2) for PH control. Spa compatible.
• Wet edge skimmer – debris to run into sub surface gutter and into pool.
• Intellitouch system control installed onto the pool plumbing.

Artistic Design/Desirability/Quality/Amenity

• This pool and landscape boasts a stunning bay and city view from a suburban hill located in Mt Martha. It was important from a design perspective, considering the slope of the rear garden that overlooking into the neighbouring properties was considered. The maximum height of pool and surrounding terraces was determined to ensure compliance with regulation and considerable thought went into the steel arbour that houses the spa to ensure overlooking into the neighbouring property wasn’t a factor.

• The arbour became a rear focal point of the design from all angles but its exact location is framed centrally to the view from the dining room of the house.

• It was decided early in the process that if the pool and spa was separated then the views of the ocean would be magnified from the outdoor dining terrace with the pool/spa featuring in the foreground.

• What was also considered during design development was the wind that would come off the bay making the experience and around the pool less pleasant. This property is perched three quarters of the way up a hill and wind factor in this location is significant. From a design point of view it was important to create an area of protection from this wind and the spa terrace became it. When it is too windy to be around the pool, those using the space can relocate to the sanctuary of the spa terrace which is protected by the building next door and the arbour screens its unsightly façade.

• The quality of the construction of this project from both pool and landscape is second to none. The detail in the pool and spa tiling, precision in wet edge detail, paving, decking, planting and lighting make this project one of our companies finest. Those who worked on the project should be commended greatly for the refined tradesmanship and hard work that has gone into transforming what was once a completely undesirable space into a pool/spa and landscape would be the envy of most.