It would be safe to say that the suburban subdivision pool house typology is rarely worth mentioning in any architectural terms. But, this is not that case with the austere Srygley Pool House just outside of Springdale, Arkansas. Designed by Fayetteville-based Marlon Blackwell Architects, the 945-square-foot figure peeks out from its own little world over a tall privacy fence to the more normative neighborhood. Working within a modest budget for a trusting repeat client, Blackwell delivered a project that transforms a typical backyard into a dynamic entertainment space.
Clad in contextually appropriate, subdued cedar siding, the project subverts normal suburban materiality to produce a bold simple figure. The project privileges the pool with a strong compositional facade with the use of large fields of glass. “With fenestration we like to work the edges. From an edge or to an edge. Once we have established that as a primary move with windows, we’ll have secondary moves where windows float, carefully composed.” This is most noticeable on the upper level, where a long ribbon window extends across the facade, flush with the siding material. “We are really trying to make the windows part of the surface as opposed to being a second element.” And yet it’s more than just an aesthetic move, large west facing ribbon window also serves to bathe the interior with soft morning light and bright evening sunsets.
