Formal Ponds | Design Elements

Formal ponds can be dramatic. I recently designed a formal pond to be located near the front entry of an impressive home. It is to be a focal point as you approach the house from a long driveway.

Here are some of my design considerations. You might apply some of these concepts to any formal pool.

Due to the size of the home and its surroundings, I decided that the diameter of the pool is to be 18 feet.

When designing a pool such as this, keep the scale of the residence and the surroundings in mind..My clients are considering a large bronze fountain for the center focal point. The pool is to have a seat wall, so that it will be easy to enjoy the waterby sitting close to it. The wall is to be 18 inches high and 1 foot deep. Since the home is brick, I decided that the outer perimeter of the wall shall be faced with brick.

There are a couple of design choices for the top of the wall, or the wall coping.

• The wall coping is to be either formed concrete or bluestone.
• If the concrete is used, it will be fluted to give it some character and be similar in look to limestone. This would be a much less expensive choice.
• The other alternative for the coping is to make it out of bluestone. I would use fairly long pieces to minimize the number of joints.
• I would specify that they be custom cut based on the radius of the pool.
• This method would look great, but it would also be quite expensive.

The pool is actually constructed in a way that is similar to the construction of a regular swimming pool, the inside being concrete. The inner wall would be tiled. The pool can actually have a filtration system to keep the water clean. This would necessitate some equipment, just as in a standard swimming pool, and obviously is another cost consideration. Regardless, the water will be moving due to the fountain which will have a hidden pump. Therefore the filtration system is an extra precaution.

Although this is a current design I am working on, there can be many variations to these design choices:

1. The pool itself can be any size, but I feel it should be a minimum of 12 feet in diameter.
2. A seat wall is a nice feature, but not a necessity. The pool can be almost flush with the ground.
3. Various types of fountains can be used as well as bubblers. Bubblers simply bubble in different areas of the water.
4. A seat wall or even a low wall can be faced with various materials, such as natural stone. It can even be concrete.

Keep the pond in scale with the surrounding buildings and spaces.

In addition, make sure all materials blend well together.

If using a formal fountain, select one that will be a true focal point and not be too small or weak.

And good workmanship!

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