Editor’s Note: This story first appeared
under the title “Sinuosità
minerale” in the Italian
magazine, Piscine Oggi,
by the editorial staff.
As if on display in a gallery,
this sinuous work of the pool builder’s
art adorns the Bolognese hills of
Monteveglio. Whether it is sculpture or
just a pool depends on the eye of the beholder
or the body of the bather. Beyond question, it
is a Mediterranean oasis under the sun, and a
meditation for those seeking higher forms.
It is also an intriguing concept for any high-end
pool builder, and an exciting idea for clients who
would be drawn to a pool you might find in model
form on special exhibit at the Met.
This opening spread does not reveal the
surrounding campagna; see the below photo for that and a
true appreciation for the way the shape fits into the
surrounding slopes and hollows of Valsamoggia,
which is key to understanding its artistic achievement. This piece truly represents
a builder’s ideal: a harmonious
combination of design and innovative
construction technology with low
environmental impact. The excavation
was relatively minimal; the materials are,
to a large extent, sand.
In the United States, we’re used
to shells constructed with some kind
of heavy structural support combined
with an impermeable finish. This one
was built without the use of concrete
castings, gunite, plaster, vinyl or PVC
— just the fiber-reinforced mineral
coating formed by IdroCon Solidified
Sand (see pages 38-39). Thanks to its
mineral and silica nature and bonding
agent, it provides a waterproof surface
which, according to adherents, hinders
the proliferation of algae, reduces
chemical usage, resists the deleterious
effects of weather, and lowers overall
maintenance costs.
As there is no concrete, resins or plastics used in the shell construction,
the company that built it, NeoGeo,
can legitimately market the pool to
environmentally conscious customers
as natural.
The shape of the pool came to life
from an “artisanal” modeling of the
ground: As you can see, it’s simply a
waterproofed, shaped excavation, covered
with a thin mineral coating. With the
backing in place, the IdroCon Solidified
Sand surface is only 20 millimeters
(about three quarters of an inch) thick.
Unique, gradual descents begin almost
at the grassy edge, then turn into
pleasant shorelines, dropping down into
naturally formed seats for hydromassage,
shaping areas of different depths, finally
descending to the bottom of the pool at a
depth of 6 feet (1.80 meters).
The visual appeal of the surface is
obvious from these excellent, detailed
photos. The tactile impression made
from touching the product is similar
to stone with a non-slip grip. It’s solid,
but flexible thanks to its fiber-reinforced
structural support, and thus, can adapt
to small settlements of soil.
On close inspection, the unique
surface color is achieved by light and
dark particles in the quartz sands
present in the IdroCon material:
The natural white of the dry beach
transitions to the pinkish white of the
shoreline. The light color creates a
clean sharp contrast between the pool
and the grass and the reclaimed tile
flooring of the house’s porch, but most
stunningly it provides a subtle parade of
color from shadow to light, crystal clear
in the shallows to aquamarine at depth.
In creating the exact contours of the
front slope, the flowing steps, and the
basin, the area was excavated and then
built up with soil compacted into small
layers, 8 inches thick, overlapping each
other until the desired level or shape
was obtained.
As of the writing of this story, two
years after construction, it has held
up well. The surface settled about 1.5
inches on one corner of the overflow
edge, without the appearance of any
cracks in the overall 242-square-meter
(2600-square-foot) pool/deck
unitary structure.
Scenic Up is the Italian manufacturer of IdroCon, the material used for the shell of this pool. The company, based in Bologna, is the parent of NeoGeo, a builder dedicated to low environmental impact pools and hot tubs and the author of this artistic pool.
NATURAL SKIN
The client wanted a free-form, lagoon-type
pool with infinity overflow, a large
beach area, stairways and a surge tank
below. The solution offered by NeoGeo
was a waterproofed, shaped excavation,
covered with IdroCon Solidificata
Sand, a patented “thin skin” coating
with exceptional flexibility. Under the
skin were placed 9 overlapping layers
of inorganic mineral products placed
sequentially, with structural nets inside
made of silica fibers of variable size that
reach up to 5 centimeters (2 inches) in
length.
The skin itself is a mineral coating
composed of selected silica sands
bonded with calcite-based products,
reinforced with alkaline resistant silica
fibers. Impermeability is guaranteed
by belite, an industrial mineral used in
Portland cement. Its main constituent
is dicalcium silicate, Ca2SiO4. It has a self crack-healing property, in which it
forms thousands of silica crystals capable
of filling any porosity or crack, until the
passage of water ceases. The coating
creates a solid but flexible lining, just 20
millimeters (¾ inches) thick, capable
of adapting to any small settling of the
ground without suffering damage.
Work on the swimming pool, which
began in September 2019, came to a
halt due to the lockdown, and was also
postponed during hot summer months
as temperatures soared above 90 degrees
Fahrenheit. The high temperatures are not
ideal for the use of calcite and silicatebased
materials such as IdroCon Solidified
Sand (in the presence of direct radiation,
for example, the material can dehydrate
quickly and be difficult to work with). This
problem was circumvented with the use of
portable shade structures that allowed the
work to continue to completion.
