Low Volume

The front yard pool—unlike its counterpart, the back yard pool—is visible from the air as well as from the street. An above-ground pool, it is an object of desire and a stage for exposure, contributing to the elevation of the house and the life of the neighborhood. Low Volume reconsiders the conventional ratios and relationships between yard, deck, and pool/water. Here, the deck overtakes the pool volume and adopts its material properties, resulting in a formal spill of surface decking that houses a kidney-shaped pool within its folds. The kidney shape is tilted 90 degrees, limiting its capacity as a vessel and obstructing the view of its profile from above. The pool that is typically understood in plan is now experienced in elevation and section. The pool is sited within the existing sunken garden of the Schindler House front yard. Its relationship with the terrain makes it simultaneously above-ground and in-ground. The view of the water from the air is a sliver of its volumetric self, which can be measured only once one is submerged in it. 

— BairBalliet is a design collective co-founded by Kelly Bair (Central Standard Office) and Kristy Balliet (Balliet Studio), whose interests in architectural research take the form of both speculative and real projects. www.bairballiet.com