Property
A 4,500m² hillside site
The pool terrace had to sit comfortably beside a restored Victorian cottage and within an established Dandenong Ranges garden.
Emerald · 2025
Emerald Effortless
Finalist
Fibreglass Pool category, VIC
Project overview
Built for this home, this site and this family.
This Bluestone Sequins fibreglass pool in Emerald was planned around the people who use it, the conditions under it and the home beside it. A low-maintenance fibreglass pool carefully set into a steep Emerald property beside a restored Victorian cottage.
- Pool model
- Fibreglass pool
- Finish
- Bluestone Sequins
- Location
- Emerald
Project decisions
What shaped the solution.
Access decision
A new lift path
Overhead powerlines ruled out the planned crane, so neighbour access and a Franna mobile crane became the workable placement route.
Ownership brief
Less daily intervention
Cleaning, pre-filtration, water monitoring, heating and a hidden blanket were considered as one low-maintenance system.
01 / The starting point
The brief
The owners wanted a pool that could fit a busy lifestyle without bringing a heavy daily maintenance routine with it.
They also wanted to extend seasonal use for at least nine months of the year despite Emerald's cooler Dandenong Ranges climate.
Efficiency, function and the formal character of the restored Victorian cottage all had to be resolved together.
02 / Site and construction
The build
The hillside required a substantial site cut, major retaining work and a complete reshaping of the backyard before the pool terrace could be formed.
Steep terrain, tight access and established trees made both movement and placement sensitive across the site.
Overhead powerlines ruled out the planned 100-tonne crane after the original access assessment. The team negotiated access through a neighbouring property and used a Franna mobile crane instead.
That revised lift plan allowed the shell to reach its final position while working around the slope and the established Dandenong Ranges setting.
03 / Shape, finish and use
The design
The pool follows the formal geometry of the restored Victorian cottage and its 4,500m² garden rather than reading as a separate object on the slope.
A geometric shell and formal entry shelf establish a clear relationship between the period home and the new outdoor living area.
Bluestone Sequins creates a vivid water colour against the dense green landscape, while the hidden blanket keeps the pool edge visually calm.
In-floor cleaning, pre-filtration, automatic water levelling and chemistry monitoring were combined to answer the site's high leaf load and the owners' low-maintenance brief.
What sits behind the water
Systems specified for the brief.
The equipment below was selected for this completed pool and the way its owners wanted to use it.
A steep block resolved into a composed pool terrace that feels connected to the cottage and established garden.
System direction
- Conquest Q360 in-floor cleaning
- Hidden pool blanket
- Automated pH and ORP monitoring
- Heat-pump heating
Installed equipment
- Astralpool QL420 Filtration
- Astralpool P320XT Variable Speed Pool Pump
- Astralpool Halo 25gm with pH and ORP probes
- Astralpool Colour Changing LED Lights
- Downunder hidden pool blanket system
- Oasis Heat Pump 19kW
- Maytronics S150 Robotic Pool Cleaner
- Conquest Q360 with 12 infloor jets, fittings, head and controller
- Cyclone Pre Filter
- Water Leveller
- 9 metre Handover Maintenance Kit
Completed project
Seen from every side.
A steep block resolved into a composed pool terrace that feels connected to the cottage and established garden.
Eight views from the completed Emerald project.
08 framesDrag to move through the gallery. Select an image to focus.
A moving gallery of the completed pool.
- Aerial view of the completed pool and sloping garden in Emerald
- Bluestone-toned fibreglass pool set into the hillside in Emerald
- Formal view along the fibreglass pool in Emerald
- Poolside entertaining area and retaining walls in Emerald
- Entry shelf and poolside seating beside the Emerald pool
- Emerald pool and garden viewed from the lawn
- Terraced planting and pool edge on the Emerald hillside
- Completed Emerald pool within the established garden
Finalist
SPASA 2025
Fibreglass Pool category, VIC
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