The grand terrace wall sets the shape of the future pool, treated like a natural basin — as if it had always been there.
“The constraints of a place must always be turned into an asset!”
When creating a garden, one must always build on what is already there. In this garden, it is the great dry-stone terrace that dictates the future pool, treated as an ornamental basin. This pool presents itself as though it had always been there.
People often think I impose my vision of the garden to come, and I would say… quite the opposite! It is the place that dictates what must be done, and I adapt to the place! Among several photomontages, there is always one that asserts itself… one that makes us realise that here everything is in order, perfectly in place… because it simply feels self-evident.
When we are in a place we have understood, one we are in tune with, the project follows naturally. I adapt to the surroundings: it is the wall that dictates the coping of the pool; it is the character and the area of the plot that call for a pool in the form of a lap channel. This is how the pool creates perspective. And that perspective resonates with the quintessentially Mediterranean surroundings.
The lap pool takes centre stage. The stone basin blends seamlessly into the landscape. The old thresholds, treated here as coping stones, echo the rustic character of the existing wall. And finally, of course, the planting is entirely Mediterranean in spirit.
Did you know there is nothing more difficult than making things simple?
Before / After
