swimming pool in mountainous central greece follows design principles of old cisterns

located on the sloping courtyard of an old village house overlooking the north evia gulf, in greece, this swimming pool was built following the principles of the old cisterns that one comes across within the local countryside. the structure is considered to be a land art work that shows respect to the existing terrain. 

all images by maria grammatikou, ivan ziovas

utilizing the slope of the existing plot, katerina michalopoulou and antonis touloumis designed and constructed a series of successive retaining walls using raw concrete. at the lowest point of the arrangement, where the central pool and a smaller jacuzzi tank meet, the retaining walls are inclined, providing a interesting visual effect. 

on these walls the overflowing water of the tanks is collected by gutters that lead it to be filtered, cleaned and then to flow again into the main pool. the cistern pool can be covered by a sliding translucent canopy cover when the weather does not allow outdoor swimming. the canopy is made of individual segments consisting of an aluminum frame and polycarbonate arc surfaces.

project info:

name: a swimming pool/cistern in mountainous central greece
architects: katerina michalopoulou and antonis touloumis
location: phthiotis, greece

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