Sullivan credits the project's natural surroundings for its authenticity — the pool had to be cut into a hillside of solid limestone bedrock and most of the indigenous vegetation remained as the landscape.
The most difficult part of the project was the excavation, says Sullivan, which took nearly two full days. "The objective was to carve the same shape out of the limestone bedrock [in such a way] that it conformed to the free-form shape of the pool itself," says Sullivan. With the shallow end of the pool only 7 feet away from the house, the tight space left no room for error. Eventually, about 15 feet of sheer limestone was carved out of the bedrock.
In keeping with the lagoon motif, says Sullivan, the desire was to create the illusion of a bottomless deep-water hole. Sullivan specified a custom-made black gel coat on the inside of the pool, and increased the depth from 6 feet to 8 feet.
Sullivan placed more than 40,000 pounds of limestone boulders throughout the project to further enhance the natural carved niche and included five different waterfalls flowing into the deep end of the pool.
Working with the given environment and enhancing the natural elements helped emphasize the project's purpose.
"To me, why not work with what you've got," says Sullivan. "As much as human beings can try to imitate nature, nothing can beat nature in its own right."
