How They Pulled It Off: A Backyard Spa in London That Feels Worlds Away From the City

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

The De Beauvoir neighborhood in east London is something of an open secret. Its elegant Victorian townhouses and semidetached villas retain a sense of grandeur, yet it remains distinctly village-like. Industrial pockets, yards and outbuildings dating back to the 19th century dot the area. One such example can be seen at a property newly redesigned by Mosley Thorold, which benefits from an additional plot of land that was added to the lot in the ’70s. Once used for manufacturing, it gave the home a substantial amount of exterior space in addition to its already sizable garden.

The founders of the London architecture firm, Henry Thorold and Nathaniel Mosley, were tasked with reviving the tired three-story Victorian-era interiors of the home and creating an urban sanctuary for the client, who—some way through the build—decided that they did want to add a natural swimming pool, sauna, and outdoor changing room to their renovation after all. 

It’s not exactly a neighborhood you’d expect to take a dip in, but they made it happen.

How they pulled it off: Building a natural pool, sauna and changing room in a London backyard

• Plan as far ahead as possible: The natural pool and sauna were always on the client's "nice to have" list, but due to budget constraints, they put it off until some way through the project. "We were strongly advising to do as much of the pool construction work as possible as soon as possible because it's so messy," says Nathaniel Mosley. When the pool project was finally given the green light, their instincts were proven correct. To accommodate the change of plan, the architects had to carefully project-manage the dig so as not to disturb the work that had already been done to the home. There was no way to access the land from the back of the property, so the soil had to be trucked through the garden and the ground floor. 
  

• Go natural: Instead of introducing a chlorinated pool that would have required a lot of chemicals, the client opted for a natural 10-meter-long pool, which is dressed in Yorkshire stone. The shingle in the pool and the aquatic plants act as a natural filtration system and make for a hospitable environment for frogs and tadpoles. "It’s so nice because it really feels like part of the garden," says Mosley. The architects worked with north London-based company Gartenart to create the pool, which feels like "swimming in a clear lake or natural spring rather than in a conventional pool." The winding paths and lush greenery of the garden, which was created by landscaper Sophie Gordon, add to the feeling of being immersed in a tranquil and slightly wild space.