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An infinity pool, also called an infinity edge pool or a zero edge pool, is a
Infinity pools are expensive and require extensive structural, mechanical, and architectural detailing. Since they are often built in precarious locations, sound
An infinity pool, also called an infinity edge pool or a zero edge pool, is a reflecting pool
A reflecting pool, also called a reflection pool, is a water feature found in gardens, parks, and memorial sites. It usually consists of a shallow pool of water, undisturbed by fountain jets, for a reflective surface.
Design
Reflecting pools are ...
or swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...
where the water flows over one or more edges, producing a visual effect of water with no boundary. Such pools are often designed so that the edge appears to merge with a larger body of water such as the ocean, or with the sky, and may overlook locations such as natural landscapes and cityscapes. They are often seen at hotels, resorts, estates, and in other luxurious places.
History
It has been claimed that the infinity pool concept originated inFrance
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and that one of the first vanishing-edge designs was the Stag Fountain at the Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 19 ...
, built in the late 17th century. In the US, architect John Lautner
John Edward Lautner (16 July 1911 – 24 October 1994) was an American architect. Following an apprenticeship in the mid-1930s with the Taliesin Fellowship led by Frank Lloyd Wright, Lautner opened his own practice in 1938, where he worked for th ...
has been credited as one of the first to come up with an infinity pool design in the early 1960s. He included infinity pools in various residential projects, and also created the vanishing-edge pool in the 1971 James Bond movie '' Diamonds Are Forever''.
Structure
Infinity pools are expensive and require extensive structural, mechanical, and architectural detailing. Since they are often built in precarious locations, sound structural engineering
Structural engineering is a sub-discipline of civil engineering in which structural engineers are trained to design the 'bones and muscles' that create the form and shape of man-made structures. Structural engineers also must understand and cal ...
is paramount. The high cost of these pools often arises from the elaborate foundation systems that anchor them to hillsides.
The "infinite" edge of the pool terminates at a weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
that is lower than the required pool water level. A trough or catch basin
A storm drain, storm sewer (United Kingdom, U.S. and Canada), surface water drain/sewer (United Kingdom), or stormwater drain (Australia and New Zealand) is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surface ...
is constructed below the weir. The water spills into the catch basin, from where it is pumped back into the pool.
References
Further reading
* *External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Infinity Pool Swimming pools Landscape architecture Luxury