Living on the Edge

There are myriad ways to add drama to a landscape, with plantings, hardscaping, inviting outdoor living areas, and more, but a smartly finessed pool is particularly effective. The following pool designers have each taken a unique approach, resulting in distinct shows of ingenuity.

“This project evolved quite a bit from the initial layout,” notes architect Paul Fischman, principal of Choeff Levy Fischman Architecture + Design, with respect to this South Florida property. “It was inspired by an aquatic design [firm] I work with, Aquatic Consultants Inc. They have a partial patent for what’s called a Lautner knife-edge perimeter overflow.” That edge drove much of the design.

“What it allowed us to do,” he explains, “was keep that courtyard feeling that you might see at a big estate in Hollywood Hills with green everywhere. The client wanted that same feel.” Without coping, the lawn transitions straight into the pool water—an effect made possible using synthetic grass to avoid die out and maintenance complications.

The one-story home—also designed by Fischman’s firm, and oriented such that the back façade and exterior spaces were of primary importance—is unique in that its interior and pool courtyard are on the same elevation.