This Striking Seattle Pool Belongs in an Art Gallery

The front yard of this home designed by E. Cobb Architects in Seattle’s Leschi neighborhood already had plenty of curb appeal, but the home’s new owner wanted to add a pool to splash around with his grandkids on a warm day. So he tapped Ian Butcher, AIA, founding partner of Best Practice Architecture to create the space.

Rafael Soldi

It was a full-circle moment of sorts for Ian since he was on the original design team of the home at the start of his career. “I was familiar with the property before starting the project,” Ian says. “I have also worked with the home’s new owner, a local art collector, on various projects over the years. It was a huge honor to be able to revisit the project from my early days as a young architect and to create a new space for a friend with a creative vision.”

Rafael Soldi

With the original house and landscape already in good shape aesthetically, the challenge was to design a pool that fit into the space, but still  make it fun and playful. “To this end we maintained a simple material palette of concrete and wood, then where we made any changes to the original landscape or the house, we did so with precision to not draw attention to the changes,” Ian says. “The new door, which provides more direct access from the house to the pool, was carefully placed to work with the existing concrete structure and detailed to match the existing architecture.”

Rafael Soldi

Ian and team lowered the grassy area adjacent to the pool to match the elevation of the house and its connecting patio. The change created a long concrete bench at the pool’s edge and a second bench at the southwest corner. “Since this was our office’s first in-ground pool design, we learned how hard it is to detail a pool to look so simple,” Ian explains. “Pools are extremely complicated from a technical standpoint and managing all of the pumps, scuppers, covers, and equipment was a real challenge. We are thrilled to have worked with such a great general contractor, Dolan Construction, and their subs.”

And since the owner is an art collector, of course art was included in the pool’s design. In fact, the owner had commissioned or purchased art specifically for the project, except for the light installation, which he already had in his collection.

Rafael Soldi

“From the start, it was known that art would play a substantial role in the project, and once we developed our schematic design, our client began engaging with artists,” Ian says. “Work was selected to highlight certain features of the yard. Most notably, a custom tile installation by the late Jim Melchert and his grandson Galen Melchert titled, ‘Liquid Center.’ Lining the bottom and one side of the new pool, Melchert’s work mimics the illusion of wavering swim lines when viewed from the water’s surface, transforming the simple, rectangular pool into an engaging work of art.”

Rafael Soldi

Other art includes a custom bronze water feature by Northwest artist Jeffry Mitchell at the corner of the patio, called “Bill’s Fountain,” and a piece from Mungo Thomson’s “Snowman” series, which depicts stacked Amazon boxes painted in bronze.

Rafael Soldi

“Essentially, our tactic was to have the pool be deferential to the house and let the new art be the star of the show,” Ian explains.

The owner loves the finished design, and adds that although there are water views on the opposite side of his house, guests want to hang out at the pool instead.