Design and project management of swimming pools in concrete & complete pool landscapes in Languedoc, Provence and the Côte d'Azur (French Riviera).

Renosud design and deliver beautiful bespoke concrete pools and pool landscapes. Either as part of a large property renovation or as a stand-alone pool project.

Why a concrete pool?

The flexibility and structural durability of a concrete pool is unmatched by anything else.

When well designed with landscaping a concrete swimming pool becomes the centerpiece of your Mediterranean lifestyle. Something to share with family and friends and the focal point for the long hot summers. A concrete pool is one of the few things you can add to your property which immediately pays for itself in equity uplift. Pools are a good investment and are essential to foreign buyers looking for property in the South of France.

The best pools are always designed holistically incorporating all the elements that make a quality pool environment such as summer kitchen, terraces for sitting and sunbathing, shaded zones and of course good landscape planting. When these elements come together in great design and execution the results can be stunning. All of the best pools you’ve ever experienced will have been carefully designed to manage the total experience. A great pool experience if far more than just the pool itself.

The importance of pool design to get the best result

When you first consider installing a pool, most people think only about the pool itself.

The problem is that most pool builders have very little interest in thinking through the installation in totality. Builders are not architects or designers. Understandably they want to win the pool contract, build it and move on. They have no interest or profit in considering the best overall holistic approach to the pool and its environment. Unless you use an architect or professional landscape design firm, you risk investing in a pool but missing the opportunity to have a stunning pool experience - the designed magazine look that characterises high quality pools.

Key considerations for a quality pool landscape project

A: Decide the functional requirements first

Who will use your pool and when, might sound like an odd question until you consider the functional requirements of the pool in the design process. There are other functional questions too which are important in the final execution. If you want a diving area, this needs to be reflected in the depth of the pool in order to have a safe diving zone of greater depth. Many pools have a water depth of 1.4m, but do you want it all one depth or graduated? If you want to accommodate young children, do you want a shallow zone incorporated into the design? If you are a serious swimmer you may consider having maximum swim length but shorter width for the same budget [if you have the space]. And then there’s pool heating. If you want to use the pool 365 you’ll need a different system to a standard pool heating system which simply extends the season. Consider what is important to you, because, with some pool builders they’ll be restrictions as to what you can and cannot incorporate with certain concrete systems. Of course, if you’re using an architect or designer like renosud all of these elements are considered in the project brief. In the end, we’ll build want you want, not force you to accept the compromises pool builders may restrict you to.

B: Decide you type of pool

There are three basic approaches to pool design. All have the function of holding the water but the aesthetic and practical way in which the pool is built and functions add possibilities for design options.

Classic pool type:

An in ground pool of any shape, water is filtered and treated via classic outflow plumbing components fitted into the pool structure which route to the pool equipment room. Pools can be raised above the ground to give the overall construction an elevated look, projecting above the ground. This can look classic when deployed as a ‘basin’ with natural stone edging in an open landscaped setting. Equally, this looks very contemporary when placed in a high quality modern terrace with clean lines.

Infinity Type

An in ground pool with one or more edges giving to a cascade, usually aligned with a view and a natural or man-made slope. The water is captured in a recovery basin from the infinity edge overflows and is recirculated via the pool equipment room for filtering and treatment. In the correct setting can look spectacular with the added sound of water.

Mirror or ‘knife-edge’ type

The pool water level gently and continually cascades over the entire pool periphery in a continuous curtain, often with the water at the same level as the surrounding terrace of slightly above it, less often built out of the ground. A concealed linear drain around the pool edge allows water to overflow where it is captured and recirculates. Mirror pools look ‘impossible’ since the meniscus [curved surface] of the water can give the impression that the water is above the level of the terrace and floating in the air. A spectacular effect which looks serene and modern.

The summer kitchen & eating areas to including installing water/electricity/waste

Lazy lunches by the pool, early evening cocktails, or just grabbing a cold glass of Rosé from the fridge are made easier with a summer kitchen and dedicated dining area. If you don’t design and build these components at the same time it can be expensive or even impossible to add them back later. You could end up with a real lifestyle compromise with an average pool. If there’s an existing building to incorporate that’s best. But even then, generally elements need to be added to make it function as a summer kitchen. In the design phase, we’ll consider all the assets in the pool vicinity to see what can be used and what needs to be created from scratch, either functionally or aesthetically in the final result.

Constructed hard landscaping elements around the pool

Nothing illustrates the importance of holistic design more than the hard landscaping components of the pool environment. The terraces, access paths and other built components such as walls, drains and shade structures [pergolas etc] and any concrete slabs all have to be considered at the same time. This type of heavy work is messy and requires access for machinery and materials and is more expensive and far more difficult to do later. You also risk losing the overall design look of the pool environment. A common mistake is not to realise that once terraces are added runoff from rain is greatly increased. A lack of effective drainage can cause flooding or run-off into the pool itself or neighbouring property. Drains have to drain somewhere and without careful design, problems can arrive later that can be difficult to resolve.

Shade, privacy screening & landscaping considerations

Your site may already have a mature garden with all the structure, shading and interest you want. But even existing landscape exteriors need to be evaluated in relation to owning a pool. Existing trees in proximity to pools can create a maintenance nightmare as well as potentially damaging filter equipment. Just like everything else, the plant choices around a pool need to be carefully designed. Shade provision, screening and just overall landscape quality are important. The Italians have great skill in this area, always incorporating the pool into a balanced and tasteful design, like the italians always do. Glancing up from your pool novel, there’s should always be somewhere your eyes can fall to reflect, enjoy and appreciate the moment you worked hard for. Like anything of quality, the finished product needs to designed.

Lighting & power provision and incorporates routing power cables

What really marks professional designed spaces is lighting. Its importance cannot be overstated in the end result. As well as safety light for paths, incorporating feature lighting turns any installation into a magazine standard execution. Of course, architects already know and appreciate the importance of lighting. Adding a wall flush uplighter in the corner picking out a feature tree or original stone wall, or incorporating in ground step lights or uplighters create magical effects that transform the feel of the end-result.

The problem is all the cables and utilities have to be incorporated from the start, safely buried and concealed and correctly installed by a qualified electrician. With the proliferation of smartphones, speakers, and power hungry leisure equipment the last thing you want is an unprotected extension cable dragged to the pool area. A recipe for a serious electrocution accident.

Pool security measures

As a private pool owner in France, you will have a legal obligation [normes AFNOR] to ensure pool security. These options have to be carefully explored from the start, in the design phase for best results. The need to enclose the pool may have significant impact both practically and aesthetically later if not designed in at the start.

Remember, no single contractor can deliver the whole picture unless you use professional design & execution

No single contractor can deliver a composite pool and pool landscaping project, so don’t believe anybody who tells you that they can. We’ve been coordinating it for 17 years. Even great pool builders have no clue about landscape design and no in-house resource to do it. Likewise, a typical pool project would involve a plumber, electrician, tiler, builder, landscape contractor and even a blacksmith for possible rails and fences. That’s before adding a summer kitchen [kitchen fitter] and then possibly a decorator. That’s why, for a really great result, pools are best designed and delivered from the design and project managers perspective - working for you as the client. Contracting the best individual artisans and coordinating them, just like any other built project. A pool is really no different. The final result is instantly noticeable in detail and quality. It marks the difference between the magazine look of an architectural design and execution and the fragmented and often regretful, bit-part approach.

Why use renosud to deliver your pool project?

When you use renosud for your pool project you are not getting a builder with pool ideas or a pool supplier with a single interest only in the pool at maximum profit and ease for them. When the starting point is careful design, the result is a great pool. We will design your bespoke pool and environment to include all the considerations and requirement of your brief and budget. That's good for you because it removes the hassle of fragmenting the works across different suppliers. Just one plan, one project manager and one guaranteed solution.

Important insurance considerations

Some builders claim to have pool-build know-how but it’s a specialist area notoriously difficult to insure - only competent businesses can get the correct insurance. All of our pool construction partners are experienced contractors with full insurance and in some cases, a lifetime in complex concrete execution.

Only traditional concrete pools

We design and manage the execution of pools in concrete only. Those built by contractors following the traditional shuttered and block-built method. No gimmicks, shortcuts and cost-saving tricks. It takes longer, lasts longer and looks better. That's why there's a world of difference between quotations. You'll pay a little more and get a lot more with a concrete pool because we insist on delivering only the best pools you can build.