The Grand Lake Poolhouse
Architect: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Location: North-eastern Oklahoma
Category: Up to $1.5 million in construction cost (category two)
The project consisted of rejuvenating the landscape without altering it by creating a functional and beautiful building offering panoramic lake view and a new journey through the garden, from the main house to the lake.
The Grand Lake Poolhouse comprises a pair of lakeside pavilions containing a pool and spa in North-eastern Oklahoma, overlooking Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees. An existing clearing in the tree-lined hill is cut into with a single-story volume running parallel to the lake. A smaller volume is placed perpendicular to it, set slightly apart from its companion volume to capture a patio at the meeting point of the two axes. An L-shaped roof plane connects all internal and external space, creating a consistent datum that references the lake’s horizontality. To preserve views across the site and enhance swimmers' views from within, the longer glazed pavilion is embedded in the undulating landscape, while the smaller pavilion – containing massage and wash rooms – offers a counterpart to its more visually open neighbor with its intimate proportions and protective charred timber cladding. Together, the two volumes read as a distinct but unified pair; a discreet addition to the broader landscape.
"Crystal clear diagrammatic solution to a very reductive design problem." ~ Jury comment
