Main Line Squash Court and Pool House

When Wyant Architecture was approached to design a regulation-sized squash court adjacent to an existing swimming pool, the primary design challenge became immediately clear: to minimize the scale of the structure, and its impact within the garden setting. In response, the design approach was to partially submerge the court into the earth, and to descend into it through a grade level pavilion serving as both pool house and viewing deck for the court below. The pavilion was conceived of as a garden shed with a traditional gabled roof from. The eave edge of the roof reaches towards the pool to create a shaded outdoor seating area, and then rises towards the ridge at an angle that allows sunlight to reach the water’s surface in the afternoon hours. A large window wall connects interior and exterior spaces, while skylights in the deep roof overhang brighten the upper level viewing deck and provide glimpses of the sky from the squash court below. An exterior palette of silvery-gray natural materials, including local stone walls and pavers, zinc roofing, and white cedar siding, will patina with age and live harmoniously within the garden setting.

Photography: Jeffrey Totaro