Peter Rose + Partners

Nestled into beautiful landscape and envisioned as a family retreat, a place to connect with loved ones, the Pool House in the Midwest utilizes passive design strategies extensively to optimize energy use. The spaces are oriented to maximize natural light, while the carefully studied curved shade slats maximize shading during the hottest times of the year, yet allow for a sense of lightness, openness, and natural breezes. The living space blurs the lines between inside and outside to the greatest degree. People, views, air, and light all move freely across the subtle thresholds of the vast lift-and-slide openings and are thus open most of the time, requiring minimal energy input from heating and cooling systems. The guest suite and changing rooms are embedded into the hill, built from concrete and stone. Extensive, native grass green roofs, shelter this place, both hiding it from, and blending it with, the world beyond. Both provide significant thermal mass to buffer temperature extremes, further reducing energy input for mechanical systems. The pool’s infinity edge provides evaporative cooling around the deck. Heating and cooling systems for the spaces are simple, minimally-sized mini-splits, which tie into a central heat pump connected to the property's geothermal system, greatly increasing efficiency. During shoulder seasons, the pool can be used as a heat sink for the primary home's cooling needs as it is connected to the geothermal system via a heat pump. This provides further efficiency for the overall property while extending the pool's usability further into the season.