Rare Magazine - Summer 2002

London is understandably not big on private open air swimming pools - who wants to float lazily under leaden skies, listening to the distant roar of HGVs and the pavement being dug up round the corner? How many London houses have a swimming pool sized garden anyway? But for those who can afford the hefty admission costs, a secret world of subterranean swimmers exists in the basements of the smart town houses of Mayfair and Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington. 'You'd be surprised how many indoor pools there are hidden away in central London houses, comments Jamie Smith, director of the London Swimming Pool Company. But there are private pools - and private pools. LSPC specialises in supplying the needs of London's most discerning bathers, and as a result its pools are up there at the top of the celebrity wet wish list. The company was started by its managing director Tony Line 18 years ago, but it's in the last four years that it has reatly started to expand. Over that time the workforce has doubled - and so has the number of pools it has created. Jamie Smith believes that it's Line's enormous specialist experience which has helped to give LSPC its competitive edge. 'He's a font of wisdom - he keeps a low profile, but we consider him as a sort of secret weapon in the market,' he explains. A lot of companies build basic pools and finishes, working on a low profit margin and churning them out; but our clientMe dictates that we produce bespoke, top quality pools - and that takes both time and expertise,' he continues. So we don't do many pools - it works out at around eight to 12 in the course of a year - but we do very nice ones. The client base includes footballers and pop stars, film actors and foreign dignitaries, though Smith is not at liberty to name many names.'I can tell you that we recently installed a spa for Robbie Williams - it was supposed to have been very hush-hush but the press got hold of the story and it was splashed all over the tabloids.' Most of the company's work comes through word of mouth - the world of pools is a shared experience, and a quick dip in your neighbour's glistening new installation can serve very effectively to crystallise your vague notion that 'it would be a nice thing to have'. What, then, should would-be pool-owners expect? It depends very much on what you have in mind, says Jamie Smith. In many cases, the company is called in to work on houses which are in the process of being completely gutted, so the pool engineers are working with the architect and often also alongside the construction company. 'Usually, however, the client has a reasonable idea of what he or she wants; the architect then elaborates on that - and then we tell him it's not workable because of the practical limitations,' he remarks, grinning.'For example, very curvy shaped pools are not usually workable because they can't accommodate automatic pool covers and other necessary equipment. Generally, pools end up being based around a rectangular core area. Given the inevitable batting back and forth of ideas, it's hardly surprising that the design process alone can take months to resolve, though the company does employ a design consultant to help move the process along and cement the client's thoughts.As well as the pool itself, LSPC deals with practicalities such as environmental control and dehumidification - crucial aspects of pool installation if the fabric of the building is not to be damaged by the condensation generated. Once the shell of the swimming pool is installed, the painstaking work of the finish and lighting begins - and, here too, says Jamie Smith, some clients have pretty ambitious ideas.'The basic option is a ceramic or glass mosaic tile finish; the mosaics are supplied in sheets with a blend of three or four different blues on a sheet,' he explains.'But as you spend more, it's possible to get a greater range of colours, or fancy effects such as gold inlay. 'Different colours and tile effects may be used to highlight features of the pool such as walk-in steps or fountains. But we have also used colours that you wouldn't expect to work in a swimming pool at all. For example, we did a pool entirely in grey tiles with stainless fittings, which was really sexy.Another job involved lining the pool in dark blue for some clients. They weren't too sure about it part-way through the work, but the final result looked really stunning.' Particularly considering that most basements are starved of natural light, the lighting scheme for the pool itself and the surrounding area is another important aspect of the overall design.'At the moment, fibre optic lighting systems are very much in vogue, and it's possible to do some impressive things with them,' observes Smith.'For example, they can be inlaid into the floor to create a thin track of light along the edge of the pool, or used to really good effect under water. It's also possible to create a rainbow effect of gradually changing colours using a colour wheel, or to build in different mood settings for the lighting, both around the pool and within it.' When clients really get their teeth into a swimming pool project, he continues, the results can be pretty spectacular.'We did one in the Mayfair house of the head of state of a certain country, which was quite special.The mosaic work lining the pool took the form of a relief map of his country, so you can imagine a lot of work went into that. The mosaic alone worked out at about £400 per square metre.' To enhance the pool itself, there's no shortage of accessories available, ranging from diving boards and slides to underwater sound systems.And for the really enthusiastic swimmer in your life, who actually wants to put himself through his paces, what better gift than a jetstream counter-current swimming unit, guaranteed to ensure he goes nowhere fast? The London Swimming Pool Company supplies the full range. Not everyone has the space for a full-blown swimming pool, of course - nor the energy to make it worth while. Jamie Smith reports that spas are a popular alternative for clients who fancy relaxing with a few close friends rather than bulk-burning the calories. Spas are also considerably more affordable: prices start at around £5,000, though you could pay over £25,000 for an all-singing, all-dancing swim-spa.Top of the range models also feature the likes of fibre optic lighting, DVD players and built-in quadrophonic speaker systems. What has been the most challenging installation for the company so far? Jamie Smith recalls the two large pools they built for Cannons Health Club in the City, in the spaces between the Cannon Street railway arches, as 'quite a task'.Then there was the hot tub required for the roof garden of a house in Chelsea: 'the garden was on the third floor, so there was a lot of work involved in actually working out how to get the water up and down, and in installing the pipework.' Of course, the more off-beat a project is, the more it's likely to cost. At the bottom end of the price range, a standard contract might come in at around £90,000 - but Smith emphasises that the sky's the limit.'The most expensive pool we've done to date cost around £250,000,' he says. A significant element of total cost is the time factor, and here too, there can be wide variation. So while a straightforward outdoor garden pool could take as little as a couple of months from start to finish - from marking out and digging the hole to installing the pool shell and pipe work, and adding the tile finish - an indoor job (which most are) would more typically take up to a year. However, Smith continues: 'contracts have been known to run for 18 months to two years in cases where we're working with other contractors.The process may reach a certain stage where we can't do any more until someone else has, and if they don't get on with it on time then we miss our window of opportunity. It can become very tedious.' Designing and installing a pool is by no means the whole story, however. The distinctly more mundane work of regular pool maintenance accounts for at least half the London Swimming Pool Company's business; it extends well beyond the select portfolio of pools installed by the company itself to encompass hundreds of private, corporate and commercial clients. Jamie Smith points out that maintenance involves pool owners in further substantial costs.'Basic running costs can be quoted at anything between £300 and £1,500 per year, but they tend to average out at around £800,' he says.'Then there is the labour charge of £75 an hour for a weekly service, which works out at over £3,000 a year, and the chemicals needed, which cost around £300 a year.All in, there's not much change from £4,500 or so in running costs.' Nonetheless, it seems there is no shortage in London of those who can afford the outlay, and for whom a top quality swimming pool is the ultimate designer accessory. Just don't get any ideas about splashing out in your penthouse apartment.
138 Replingham Road, Southfields, London SW18 5LL : Tel : 020 8874 0414 : Fax : 020 8874 0860

London is understandably not big on private open air swimming pools - who wants to float lazily under leaden skies, listening to the distant roar of HGVs and the pavement being dug up round the corner? How many London houses have a swimming pool sized garden anyway? But for those who can afford the hefty admission costs, a secret world of subterranean swimmers exists in the basements of the smart town houses of Mayfair and Belgravia, Chelsea and Kensington. 'You'd be surprised how many indoor pools there are hidden away in central London houses, comments Jamie Smith, director of the London Swimming Pool Company. But there are private pools - and private pools. LSPC specialises in supplying the needs of London's most discerning bathers, and as a result its pools are up there at the top of the celebrity wet wish list. The company was started by its managing director Tony Line 18 years ago, but it's in the last four years that it has reatly started to expand. Over that time the workforce has doubled - and so has the number of pools it has created. Jamie Smith believes that it's Line's enormous specialist experience which has helped to give LSPC its competitive edge. 'He's a font of wisdom - he keeps a low profile, but we consider him as a sort of secret weapon in the market,' he explains. A lot of companies build basic pools and finishes, working on a low profit margin and churning them out; but our clientMe dictates that we produce bespoke, top quality pools - and that takes both time and expertise,' he continues. So we don't do many pools - it works out at around eight to 12 in the course of a year - but we do very nice ones. The client base includes footballers and pop stars, film actors and foreign dignitaries, though Smith is not at liberty to name many names.'I can tell you that we recently installed a spa for Robbie Williams - it was supposed to have been very hush-hush but the press got hold of the story and it was splashed all over the tabloids.' Most of the company's work comes through word of mouth - the world of pools is a shared experience, and a quick dip in your neighbour's glistening new installation can serve very effectively to crystallise your vague notion that 'it would be a nice thing to have'. What, then, should would-be pool-owners expect? It depends very much on what you have in mind, says Jamie Smith. In many cases, the company is called in to work on houses which are in the process of being completely gutted, so the pool engineers are working with the architect and often also alongside the construction company. 'Usually, however, the client has a reasonable idea of what he or she wants; the architect then elaborates on that - and then we tell him it's not workable because of the practical limitations,' he remarks, grinning.'For example, very curvy shaped pools are not usually workable because they can't accommodate automatic pool covers and other necessary equipment. Generally, pools end up being based around a rectangular core area. Given the inevitable batting back and forth of ideas, it's hardly surprising that the design process alone can take months to resolve, though the company does employ a design consultant to help move the process along and cement the client's thoughts.As well as the pool itself, LSPC deals with practicalities such as environmental control and dehumidification - crucial aspects of pool installation if the fabric of the building is not to be damaged by the condensation generated. Once the shell of the swimming pool is installed, the painstaking work of the finish and lighting begins - and, here too, says Jamie Smith, some clients have pretty ambitious ideas.'The basic option is a ceramic or glass mosaic tile finish; the mosaics are supplied in sheets with a blend of three or four different blues on a sheet,' he explains.'But as you spend more, it's possible to get a greater range of colours, or fancy effects such as gold inlay. 'Different colours and tile effects may be used to highlight features of the pool such as walk-in steps or fountains. But we have also used colours that you wouldn't expect to work in a swimming pool at all. For example, we did a pool entirely in grey tiles with stainless fittings, which was really sexy.Another job involved lining the pool in dark blue for some clients. They weren't too sure about it part-way through the work, but the final result looked really stunning.' Particularly considering that most basements are starved of natural light, the lighting scheme for the pool itself and the surrounding area is another important aspect of the overall design.'At the moment, fibre optic lighting systems are very much in vogue, and it's possible to do some impressive things with them,' observes Smith.'For example, they can be inlaid into the floor to create a thin track of light along the edge of the pool, or used to really good effect under water. It's also possible to create a rainbow effect of gradually changing colours using a colour wheel, or to build in different mood settings for the lighting, both around the pool and within it.' When clients really get their teeth into a swimming pool project, he continues, the results can be pretty spectacular.'We did one in the Mayfair house of the head of state of a certain country, which was quite special.The mosaic work lining the pool took the form of a relief map of his country, so you can imagine a lot of work went into that. The mosaic alone worked out at about £400 per square metre.' To enhance the pool itself, there's no shortage of accessories available, ranging from diving boards and slides to underwater sound systems.And for the really enthusiastic swimmer in your life, who actually wants to put himself through his paces, what better gift than a jetstream counter-current swimming unit, guaranteed to ensure he goes nowhere fast? The London Swimming Pool Company supplies the full range. Not everyone has the space for a full-blown swimming pool, of course - nor the energy to make it worth while. Jamie Smith reports that spas are a popular alternative for clients who fancy relaxing with a few close friends rather than bulk-burning the calories. Spas are also considerably more affordable: prices start at around £5,000, though you could pay over £25,000 for an all-singing, all-dancing swim-spa.Top of the range models also feature the likes of fibre optic lighting, DVD players and built-in quadrophonic speaker systems. What has been the most challenging installation for the company so far? Jamie Smith recalls the two large pools they built for Cannons Health Club in the City, in the spaces between the Cannon Street railway arches, as 'quite a task'.Then there was the hot tub required for the roof garden of a house in Chelsea: 'the garden was on the third floor, so there was a lot of work involved in actually working out how to get the water up and down, and in installing the pipework.' Of course, the more off-beat a project is, the more it's likely to cost.At the bottom end of the price range, a standard contract might come in at around £90,000 - but Smith emphasises that the sky's the limit.'The most expensive pool we've done to date cost around £250,000,' he says. A significant element of total cost is the time factor, and here too, there can be wide variation. So while a straightforward outdoor garden pool could take as little as a couple of months from start to finish - from marking out and digging the hole to installing the pool shell and pipe work, and adding the tile finish - an indoor job (which most are) would more typically take up to a year. However, Smith continues: 'contracts have been known to run for 18 months to two years in cases where we're working with other contractors.The process may reach a certain stage where we can't do any more until someone else has, and if they don't get on with it on time then we miss our window of opportunity. It can become very tedious.' Designing and installing a pool is by no means the whole story, however.The distinctly more mundane work of regular pool maintenance accounts for at least half the London Swimming Pool Company's business; it extends well beyond the select portfolio of pools installed by the company itself to encompass hundreds of private, corporate and commercial clients. Jamie Smith points out that maintenance involves pool owners in further substantial costs.'Basic running costs can be quoted at anything between £300 and £1,500 per year, but they tend to average out at around £800,' he says.'Then there is the labour charge of £75 an hour for a weekly service, which works out at over £3,000 a year, and the chemicals needed, which cost around £300 a year.All in, there's not much change from £4,500 or so in running costs.' Nonetheless, it seems there is no shortage in London of those who can afford the outlay, and for whom a top quality swimming pool is the ultimate designer accessory. Just don't get any ideas about splashing out in your penthouse apartment.