Ann K. McCallum
Owens Pool House, Worthington, Mass.
A steep slope can be your friend when you’re trying to avoid putting in an ugly pool fence. This clever structure provides a shaded spot for poolside lounging on one side and tennis watching on the other—and it’s infinitely prettier than your standard, 4-foot-tall pool enclosure.
Leaving the surrounding grade unchanged, the architects at Burr and McCallum specified a 4-foot-high wall of indigenous Goshen stone to wrap the perimeter of the pool. On the uphill side, the stone wall rises to 8 feet, creating roof supports for a covered pavilion with ipe decking, which includes storage, a bathroom, and a small changing area. A solid door in the stone wall completes the pool enclosure requirements, and the stacked stone matches other garden walls on the property. Board-formed concrete and painted clapboards on the back side of the structure were cost savers.
SPECIAL FOCUS
Category: Outbuilding
Entrant/Architect: Burr and McCallum Architects, Williamstown, Mass.
Builder: Teton Builders, Cummington, Mass.
