Lynwood Therapy Pool, Devon swimming space, Southwest England rural property photos

Lynwood Therapy Pool in Devon, England

26 January 2025

Design: OEB architects

Location: Devon, southwest England, UK

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon England

Photos: Nick Dearden – Building Narratives

Lynwood Therapy Pool, England

OEB architects was approached to design a Therapy Pool for a client affected by chronic back pain, which had left them unable to move or rest comfortably, let along walk down the steep steps to the pebble beach for their usual swim in the sea. The pool enables them to undertake daily physiotherapy for operation prep and recovery without having to drive, as well as providing the opportunity for regular doorstep exercise for both of the couple as they get older.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon England

The site lies within a terraced front garden of a Victorian villa on the Jurassic Coast. Aiming to appear uncontroversially contextual from a distance, the building was placed perpendicular to the house to enclose a new south facing paved terrace, using materials that match the house in tone. The simple rectangular shape of the pool building is chamfered at the corner to preserve the sea view from the table in the kitchen behind, a corner of the home full of activity throughout the day.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon UK Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon UK

We were interested in how to make a building that both felt at home in its surroundings of a well-loved English garden, and yet dreamt of somewhere else more mystical. The design draws on the tradition of the renaissance grotto, artificial watery environments that often take the form of a rougher version of the house to which they relate: Recognisable classical elements are translated into unusual materials and encrusted shapes, signalling the entrance into a cool subterranean interior.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon England

Rather than using the stone and mosaic of historical examples, we used timber frame, insulation board, and render to make relief and texture – economical, quick, and energy-efficient, and to investigate the expressive potential of contemporary construction methods and materials

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon Southwest England

The relief on the elevations is formed in varied depths of insulation, making a rhythm of arches that relate to the openings of the existing house. The first arch lends grandeur to the entrance, while the series of reflected arches along the long elevation hint at the wateriness within. The combed application of the render makes rustication appropriate to the English seaside: a hand-made texture with a happy resemblance to soft-serve ice cream.

From a garden-level entrance and changing area, steps lead up to the pool edge. Windows sit at pool top level with views out across the garden from within the water. The interior is a cave-like dark grey, brought alive with liquid reflections. The arched window in the far end reflects as a full circle in the stillness, before shimmering away as you descend into the water.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon Southwest England Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon England

What inspired the design of the Lynwood Therapy Pool, and how do renaissance grottos influence its aesthetic and functionality?
Swimming pools exist in many guises, from the municipal local pool, the lido, the luxury endless, and the tiled hole in the suburban garden in the shape of a kidney. Their blue-tiled character often tries to speak of a holiday somewhere warmer and more mediterranean than the damp grey England they serve.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon Southwest England Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon UK

When asked to design a mini pool as an addition to a Victorian villa by the sea in Devon for a client with a back injury who wanted to be able to exercise closer to home, we were interested in how to make a building that both felt at home in its surroundings of a well-tended English garden, and yet still dreamed of somewhere else more mystical.

Rather than a sunny far-off beach, it felt fitting to draw on the tradition of the renaissance garden grotto, artificial watery environments within the grounds of renaissance palazzos that often take the form of a roughened version of the main house to which they relate. Recognisable classical elements are translated into unusual materials, or strange stalactite-like encrustations on the exterior that signal the entrance into a cool darkened interior.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon Southwest England

As architects we are motivated to investigate the expressive potential of contemporary construction methods and materials rather than replicating the visual particularities of another time. Rather than using the stone and mosaic of the historical examples we were looking at, we used timber frame, insulation board, and silicon render to make relief and texture – a particularly economical, quick, energy-efficient and adaptable construction method.

A relief on the new building is made out of varied depths of insulation, forming a rhythm of arches similar to the arched windows and doors of the main house. The first arch lends some grandiosity to the pool’s entrance, while the series of reflected arches along the long elevation hint at the wateriness within. The combed application of the render makes a form of rustication that feels appropriate to the English seaside: a hand-made texture unusual for a typically smoothened surface material, with a happy resemblance to soft serve ice cream.

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon UK

Lynwood Therapy Pool in Devon, England – Design Information

Architect: OEB Architects – https://www.oebarchitects.co.uk/

Completion date: 2022

Lynwood Therapy Pool Devon England

Photography: Nick Dearden – Building Narratives

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Lynwood Therapy Pool, Devon, England images / information received 260125 from OEB Architects UK

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