Outdoor sophisticated style

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This contemporary and sophisticated pool design elegantly complements the property

When viewing this completed development on Sydney’s lower North Shore, it is difficult to visualise the enormous issues that arose during the building approval and construction stages of the project.

Shaun Wright, senior designer of the award-winning A Total Concept Landscape Architects and Pool Designers notes, “The steeply sloping site posed problems as the project could only be designed with a substantially elevated swimming pool and was therefore in direct conflict with council planning policy. In addition, the immediate property owners organised a neighbourhood petition to object to the proposal. We negotiated with=QUOTE= the council for more than a year to get the project approved in the form desired rather than compromise on a design that would ultimately not work as well for our clients or their property.
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“We thought all our clients’ problems were over once we obtained the building approval. We then specified and tendered the project and set the contracts for pool and landscaping. On the first day that construction commenced, the disgruntled neighbours lodged a complaint to the council and continued to do so throughout the construction process, causing unnecessary delays,” reflects Shaun. “We were able to successfully guide our clients through these complex processes with minimal pain.”

“People are looking for value and quality — the ‘wow’ factor in the finer detail rather than in the size of the project, and this project delivers it with the innovative in-water tanning shelf (an underwater paved area with lounges where the user can lie in the sun without getting wet, but still enjoy the cooling effects of the surrounding water), and chunky square edges of the coping which create shadowlines around the pool, creating the effect of a floating island sitting area,” Shaun explains.

The garden, also designed by A Total Concept, is predominantly viewed from above so Shaun incorporated strong-coloured simple bands of Syzygium ‘Cascade’ (weeping lilly pilly), Anigozanthes ‘Bush Gem Red’ (kangaroo paws), Westringia fruticosa (coastal rosemary), Ophiopogon jaburan (giant mondo grass) and Phormium ‘Purple Haze’ (dwarf flax).

The end result is both an innovative and beautifully integrated pool complex for the owners of this home. Visual simplicity of design and subtle use of quality materials unify the project and set all of the components well into the surrounding landscaped gardens to create a private resort.