January 2012 AQUA Choice Winner

The pool employs two Pentair VFD Pumps, one for the main pool and the other for the overflow system, and two 500-square-foot cartridge filters. Pipe diameter varies from 2 to 6 inches.

A home as unique as this one needs a pool to match. Built into the side of a steep cliff in West Kelowna, British Columbia, this home is the epitome of contemporary architecture, and its pool is no exception.

"The contemporary flair of this whole property is carried throughout the home and into the yard," says Gene Brown, president of Valley Pool and Spa, January's AQUA Choice winner.

The first thing that had to be done was to erect a massive 35-foot retaining wall along the cliff that the home overlooks. With the retaining wall in place, a 45-foot-long vanishing-edge pool was constructed that flows over the side of an 8-foot-high wall.

The basin below the wall gives a beautiful display with 16 colored LED lights creating rich tones of blue, purple and pink on the adjoining wall. These lights can operate as a light show, a rainbow effect or simply a solid color.

"This pool required creativity due to the fact that the yard was a steep sloped cliff when we first arrived," says Brown. "Because of the location of the pool, everything that was used to do the construction had to be craned up to the yard from the street below, including all equipment and materials."

Even the equipment room for this one-of-a-kind pool is contemporary in its design. The room is hidden underneath the pool, with access from the side.

The pool also features a swim-up bar, a tanning bay and a 3-foot-diameter fire bowl off to the side. The modern aesthetic of the pool is enhanced with a specially ordered honed granite yin yang medallion inlayed into the lounge area of the deck.

The pool itself is lined with hammered Mediterranean blue glass tile and the deck is clad in flamed granite, adding emphasis to the fire features that adorn either side of it. The glass tile used in the pool was also used in a recreational room in the home, keeping the contemporary flow between the two parts alive.

The construction of this pool took three years from start to finish, and the hard work paid off. We are left with a contemporary image of beauty and unique pool design.

Comments or thoughts on this article? Please e-mail scottw@aquamagazine.com.

Mandy Acre