Liquid Assets

Perhaps the ultimate Hamptons pool is one being built in Southampton as we speak.  Made by the Tortorella Group it boasts two outer walls made entirely of glass—the better to view the ocean. Another Tortorella pool, in Sagaponack, has been elevated to allow people to walk underneath and look up through its glass floor. Did we mention that the company also installs underwater LED lights that perform light shows, one to the theme of “The Star Spangled Banner”?

These are not your grandma’s pools. Not with price tags that run between $750,000 and $2 million. “Building pools today is not like in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” says John Tortorella, who has been a pool guy since 1981. Back then there was “little thought to landscaping,” he says. “Today more people are using their properties to socialize.” And to keep the family centered round the pool, you need what he calls “all the oohs and ahs.”

Edgy
At the top of the list of upscale Hamptons’ swimming holes are negative and rimless edge pools. A negative edge (AKA infinity edge, zero edge, disappearing edge, or vanishing edge) “produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon, vanishing, or extending to ‘infinity,’” according to Wikipedia. These are most ooh-and-ah producing when the edge appears to merge with a pond, ocean or sky—possible when the pool is located in a green field. The first of such edges was said to have originated in the Stag Fountain at the Palace of Versailles around 500 years ago. Tortorella describes a rimless edge as “giving the appearance when the sun shines that it’s a sheet of glass hovering above the patio.” Water flows from all four sides into a slot.

Go Chasing Waterfalls
For pool meister Chris Walsh, who has been building pools for 30 years, the “hottest thing in pools” is to combine them with spas (what used to be called hot tubs). His company, Casual Water Pools, has been busy installing lots of these pools—often with the spa elevated so that water circulating in it can spill over the side for a “waterfall effect.” Walsh works with Bill D’Agata of Pembrooke Fine Landscaping to make sure that the spa is oriented to best hear the cascading water. (Speaking of sound, Tortorella installs speakers inside pools. Talk about ‘easy listening.’)

Fun Out of the Sun
Pool structures are also the rage according to D’Agata, who erects enchanting pool houses, pavilions and pergolas. The former contain extensive amenities from kitchens to bathrooms while the latter two are simply colonnades that support cross-rafter roofs. Pavilions can be wired for lighting, A/V and Internet while a pergola is a trellis that usually provides shade with twining vines.

Get Stoned
Of course pools are lined in Gunite, but the pool finishes of the moment come from a company called Pebble Technology International. Pebble Tec® is made of an aggregate of pebbles imported globally for color and smoothness and produce a spectrum of iridescent colors as sunlight changes throughout the day. PebbleSheen® is a colorful mosaic of pebbles tightly fused and lightly buffed to create the evenly textured look of granite. “They’re very long-lasting with a huge array of colors and textures,” says Walsh, who reports that various shades of blue and black have taken hold in the Hamptons.

Smart Pools
“Full automation today is amazing,” says Tortorella. He installs what he calls a “brain,” to control the flow of salt, chlorine and acid. How this affects pool owners? Less visits by pool guys for one thing, as the brain does the testing and adjusting of levels. Also, the field managers at Tortorella get alerts on their smart phones to advise them if a visit is in order. “It maintains a setting so you never get too much or too little chlorine.”

Who Wants to Swim in Bleach?
Casual Water, which boasts Green Builder Certification form the National Association of Home Builders, employs a water purifying system from ECOsmarte that uses copper ionization that claims to “purify water better than chlorine.” Walsh believes that it is superior to any other system including salt and ozone. “It’s cleaner than tap water in your house,” he says.

Classic Hamptons
Not much has changed in pool shape. The “classic” Hamptons pool remains a rectangle—probably because of the high turnover rate of properties. The next buyer may not appreciate a kidney-shape. And pool surrounds are still typically gray slate or thermal blue stone with a textured nonslip surface.  Though lap pools are trending. Walsh has just built a 75-foot one for an “iron man” client.
“It’s an exciting time for pools,” says Tortorella. “If somebody can think it we can build it.”