Heathside Poolhouse
New Pool and Pool House in Surrey Landscape
- Location: Surrey, UK
- Status: Completed December 2020
- Client: Private
- Architects: Surman Weston
- Landscape Designer: Matthew Childs Design
- Structural Engineers: Structure Workshop
- Landscape Contractor: Belderbos Landscapes
- Poolhouse Carpentry and Joinery: Tim Gaudin
- Pool Contractor: Clear Water Revival
- Water Features Contractor: Water Artisans
- Team: Hilton Murrell, Tom Surman, Percy Weston
A Geometric Intervention in a Woodland Garden
The project is conceived as a bold geometric insertion within a wild and wooded garden. The architecture forms a deliberate counterpoint to the surrounding landscape, introducing a clear and legible form within a topographically rich setting.
Working with Level Change and Landscape
An existing retaining wall across the site creates a level change of approximately 1.5 metres between the landscaped garden and the woodland beyond. The design engages directly with this condition, using it to generate the primary form of the project.
A circular concrete disc straddles the level change, with part grounded and part cantilevering out into the woodland. The rectangular swimming pool intersects both the disc and the sloping terrain, sitting partially embedded in the ground and partially projecting into the landscape.
Pool and Terrace as a Unified Element
The pool and terrace are conceived as a single architectural gesture, combining geometry and topography. The circular platform establishes a new datum within the garden, while its cantilevered edge extends the experience of the landscape, visually and physically connecting the garden to the woodland beyond.
This approach reinforces the relationship between built form and setting, allowing the architecture to both frame and borrow from the surrounding landscape.
Material Strategy and Construction
The project is composed of three primary elements: concrete groundworks, a timber pool house structure, and a lightweight aluminium roof.
The concrete base forms both the structural platform and the pool enclosure, providing a robust and durable interface with the landscape. Above, the timber structure introduces warmth and tactility, while the aluminium roof provides a lightweight canopy that oversails the building below.
An Open Pavilion and Threshold Condition
The aluminium roof extends beyond the footprint of the pool house to create a deep threshold between inside and outside. Large sliding doors allow the building to open fully onto the terrace, transforming the compact internal space into an outdoor room.
This flexibility enables the pool house to operate as both an enclosed retreat and an open pavilion, responding to seasonal use and occupation.
Architecture and Landscape in Dialogue
The project was developed in close collaboration with the landscape design, with architecture and planting conceived as a unified scheme. The geometric clarity of the building contrasts with the naturalistic landscape, allowing each to enhance the other.
The result is a carefully balanced composition in which sharp architectural form and soft planting coexist, reinforcing the sense of the building as a crafted intervention within a broader natural setting.