Award winning

Minimalist Pool with Counter Current Unit

London

Simplicity of design makes this luxury indoor pool stand out. The minimalist design of the semi level deck pool and the pool hall are simple in form with clean lines throughout. The space is flooded with natural light from the surrounding French windows, skylights and a roof lantern that casts attractive shapes on the pool water. The pool and hall feature a monochromatic colour palette of subtle greys that create such an inviting atmosphere – the pool and hall just ooze tranquillity. A great place to swim and relax after an energetic session in the nearby home gym.

The swimming pool, which measures 12.2m by 3.5m and 1.3m deep, is finished in large format porcelain tiles, which go a long way to create the spacious, luxurious feel. Installed at the far end of the pool is a HydroStar counter-current swim unit with a single turbine unit capable of delivering 160m³ per hour flow to swim against. This is an excellent addition to the pool as the current enables swimmers to enjoy either vigorous swimming training or therapeutic massage.

Complementing the pool is a separate, six-seater spa designed and built by the LSPC team which is finished in the same luxurious porcelain tiles as the pool.

As with all pools designed and built by LSPC, the plant room uses technologically advanced equipment that ensures high performance, energy and cost efficiency. Highlights of the technical equipment include a Phoenix environmental control and heating system from Heatstar. Water treatment starts with medium rate filtration (25m³/h/m²) with Activated Filter Media (AFM) within the filter vessels thus complementing a turnover for the swimming pool water of within four hours.

A Bayrol Pool Manager Pro monitors water chemistry and ensures a measured dosage of sanitiser (sodium hypochlorite) and pH minus (sodium bisulphate) are injected into the swimming pool water via the plant room circulating pipework. There is also a Triogen UV system to assist with keeping the combined chlorine levels under control during heavy bather loads. These features are key to both the pool and spa, with the exception of the spa turnover which is around 15 minutes.

Typically pool owners want to ensure extra safety around pool usage, to protect their pools and conserve energy, and the owners of this pool are no exception – consequently, the pool is fitted with an Ocea Polycarbonate automatic pool cover and the spa is fitted with a bubble cover. When the swimming pool and spa covers are on, the air handling system will set back the room temperature from 28°C to 22ºC (whilst keeping the pool water at 29ºC) – this saves energy when the pool is not in use because of three factors:

the pool hall is not trying to maintain 30ºC with the cover on
the water’s ability to mix in the air (humidity) is reduced, saving energy from the pool water by keeping heat in the pool
reduced humidity saves on chemical usage

Floor inlets deliver the filtered and heated water back into the pool and eventually over the weir edge (semi level deck at water level) which is just below the finished floor level. This weir allows for up to 100% of the circulated water duty to flow through the pool tank (bottom to top) giving optimum circulation through the tank. This slot is fitted to both sides of the pool in their entirety to maximise this flowing of the swimming pool water.

LSPC worked closely with the client to realise the bespoke tile layout pattern ensuring lines flow through the pool and onto the surround as sympathetically as is possible working into columns and window reveals and around floor grilles delivering warm air back into the room. Pool edge tiles were all measured on-site and fabricated off-site to allow the walkway to flow where stone meets water.

The perfect place for reflection, water therapy as well as exercise; a sanctuary if you will.