Dive Into a Trio of Cool Blue Pool Retreats

Far from an add-on, pools are the very centerpieces of these splashy residences. From a Manhattan roof deck and a Hudson Valley escape to a tranquil multilevel playground that brings the outside in (in the canniest way), here are three aquatic arrangements that beat the heat.

San Mateo Residence by Oculus Architecture & Design. Photography by Art Gray.

Designer: Oculus Architecture & Design

Site: San Mateo, California

Standout: Rising out of board-formed concrete is a site-sensitive green-roofed aerie with a hot tub that juts dramatically over lush landscaping and a 40,000-gallon lap pool serviced by a terrace doubling as a diving platform. Completing the sybaritic assemblage is a sauna lined in Western red cedar and glass-wrapped alfresco entertaining areas accessed via stacked sliders.

New York, New York Residence by TBD Architecture & Design Studio. Photography by Christopher Olstein.

Designer: TBD Architecture
& Design Studio

Site: New York, New York

Standout: A block-long, skylit penthouse near Union Square has as much living space outside as in. Its 6,000-
square-foot rooftop nestled among water towers features a 25-foot current-generating exercise pool with mahogany deck left unfinished to weather under the sun’s rays.

Chatham, New York Residence by BarlisWedlick Architects. Photography by Reto Guntli.

Designer: BarlisWedlick Architects

Site: Chatham, New York

Standout: Sited on a 115-acre rural estate, a board-and-batten pool house designed to recall local agricultural buildings sports a rustic oak-trunk colonnade, a birch-log accent wall, and tropically minded Paul Frankl rattan loungers for taking in views of the Catskill Mountains through 18-foot windows—triple-glazed to help keep the structure a balmy 88 degrees year-round.

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