Water, Water Anywhere
Combining two Southern California cultural staples, this long, narrow pool has a broken line of white tile along the bottom that resembles a drag strip. Then there’s black-and-white tile at the waterline--similar to the checkered flag at the Daytona 500. Santa Monica architect Hagy Belzberg collaborated with a Seattle colleague, George Wittman, to design the auto-inspired pool for their client, who customizes cars for print ads and TV commercials.
That was the easy part.
Belzberg says the pool was difficult because of its proximity to national parkland, the complex hillside site and the remoteness of the locale. Not to mention pesky rattlesnakes.
Located in the Boney Ridge range of the Santa Monica Mountains, the property is a 30-minute drive up twisting canyon roads from Pacific Coast Highway. Before construction could begin, workers had to pave roads, dig for utility lines and reinvigorate an old well for fresh water. It took more than a year to win plan approval from the National Park Service.
“You’re not allowed to build within 25 feet of a protected area without mitigating circumstances,” Belzberg says. “They didn’t want hikers to see a white, boxy house and big pool while out communing with nature.”
To integrate the property with the environment, the architects designed a low, single-story home using non-reflective glass and natural materials. The pool--75 feet long and 10 feet across at its widest point--features a surrounding concrete coping and deck, making it nearly invisible from a distance.
A series of platforms supported by at least a dozen caissons driven 25 feet into bedrock secure the house and pool on the hillside. Viewed from below, a rough-hewn mound with embedded rocks masks the outer wall. “It appears as if the hillside continues up to the pool,” Belzberg says.
A submerged ledge is perfect for taking in the view, he says. “There’s a wonderful sensation of floating on the clouds.”
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RESOURCE GUIDE
William Hefner Architecture & Interiors, Los Angeles, (323) 931-1365; John Feldman, KAA Design Group, Los Angeles, (310) 821-1400; Dan Garness, Garness Architecture + Landscape, Los Angeles, (310) 390-2466; Rios Clementi Hale Studios, Los Angeles, (323) 634-9220; Tighe Architecture, Santa Monica, (310) 450-8823; Hagy Belzberg, Santa Monica, (310) 453-9611; George Wittman, Seattle, (206) 275-2259; Glen Irani Architects, Venice, (310) 305-8840; Todd Williamson and James Magni, Magni Design, Los Angeles, (323) 866-0600; Jay Griffith, Venice, (310) 392-5558.
