The overflowing swimming pool
The overflowing swimming pool is a beauty to behold. The horizon line melts into one of the sides of the pool. The optical effect is spectacular, especially if the horizon is made of water !
What makes this type of pool particularly aesthetic is the optical illusion it gives : one of the sides of the pool melts into the horizon line ! To achieve this 3D effect, this side is not visually limited by a coping. The pool thus overflows on one side to give the impression of infinite space.
This type of pool differs technically from a standard pool by its filtration system and the absence of a coping. The traditional skimmer is replaced by a system of channels protected by a grating or by a secondary pool on a lower level out of which the water to be filtered is pumped and redirected towards the main pool. The water circuit is therefore different and necessitates a powerful pump because of the difference in the levels of the two pools and because of the amount of overflow needed to provide the optical illusion.
The type of overflowing pool you can create is limited only by your imagination. Apart from the imaginative and aesthetic aspect of this type of pool, the main advantage of it is to provide bathers a water surface which is always clean. All floating particles are pushed to the overflowing side of the pool. The main pool therefore gets less dirty than a standard pool. The grease from sun lotion, for example, which tends to deposit on the surface of the water by bathers is quickly evacuated into the secondary pool.
Another advantage is that the pool appears to be bigger than it actually is ! However, this type of pool is much more expensive than a standard one. The reasons for this are :
- the pump must be powerful enough to take in the amount of water necessary to provide a nice optical illusion.
- a system of floodgates must be installed to stop the bathing pool continuing to empty itself into the secondary pool in the event of the pump breaking down.
- a secondary pool with a capacity of at least 5% of the main pool must be built - this adds to the total cost of the pool considerably.
- a specialist must be consulted to ensure that the horizon line melts into the overflowing side of the basin, thus guaranteeing a perfect optical illusion.