Orchard Spa
Orchard Spa is on the western edge of ‘The Lakes by yoo’ a holiday home development in 650 acres of regenerated landscape that borders a gravel works, near the Cotswolds. The masterplan is to reclaim the lakes over time for sustainable development, amenity and biodiversity.
De Matos Ryan was briefed to make the most of this otherwise marginal boundary, unsuitable for homes, to create a spa for residents of the holiday homes, including a 20m pool, children’s play pool, gym, sauna, steam, treatment and clubrooms. The aim was to create a spa that residents would use as if the facilities were in their own home.
The practice was challenged therefore to create an oasis of calm next to an operational industrial process.
De Matos Ryan has created an architectural language that borrows from the existing context but which has developed a new identity. A long single-storey steel-frame portal shed occupied the original site and central to the design concept was the retention of the industrial shed as a typology. This offers a solid functional context for the spa, and also creates an interesting tension between the industrial heritage of the site and the modern relaxation aesthetic of the spa.
Having removed the asbestos cladding, De Matos Ryan considered the advantages of re-using the structure. The wide spanning and open plan nature of the portal frame were appropriate to the flexibility of servicing and spatial planning required in the client’s brief. Its footprint and massing also presented a low risk route to planning approval.
After planning was approved, a trial pit revealed a deficiency in the existing steel column pads that made it impossible to cost effectively keep the existing structure and excavate a pool adjacent. De Matos Ryan’s vision however remained intact and the resulting volume, footprint and proportion are commensurate with the original shed.
Within the portal frame typology, there are three significant strategies in the detailed design: Firstly, the relationship between inside and outside is blurred, creating a sense of ‘a spa in nature’. Large glazed screens expose the natural environment to users of the spa. Basalt tiles and Siberian Larch cladding on the outside of the building extend to the interior of the spa, offering a visual route between inside and out. A slide-away corner in the pool hall welcomes spa users onto new landscaping and views of the lakeside.
Secondly, modern detailing and natural materials have been utilised to enhance the restorative and tactile experience of the spa. A meeting of fire, light and water at the crossing of the stone hearth with the showers and rooflight is a key moment on the internal path between dry and wet areas. In the dry areas, the 400mm wide Douglas Fir boards are of a scale akin to a natural forest. In the wet areas, the 400mm wide Flamed Basalt flooring was chosen for its durability and natural slip resistance under bare feet.
Thirdly, to get the building ‘out of the way’ of the spa user, giving them a feeling of being left in peace - all visible signs of the workings of the building have been concealed to create a feeling of seamless material and spatial clarity. Externally, all service penetrations on the standing seam roof facing the orchard are restricted. Internally, a stretched-fabric ceiling for the pool hall was specified, which offers the practical benefits of being a vapour barrier and acoustic dampener, as well as hiding air handling ducts. The infinity edge of the pool creates a reflective plane that broadcasts a tranquil acoustic trickle resulting in the gravel bagging plant beyond being scarcely audible.
The spa combines a sense of peace with the social needs of families on the development. The social hub of the spa is the clubroom, which overlooks the pool and orchard from the entrance. It acts as a common room for residents, somewhere to gather: a shared living space with a small library, Wi-Fi, coffee and tea making facilities, a pool table and board games. The success of the project is illustrated by the extent to which families regularly use this space as an extension of their own homes. It is enhanced by interior design and furniture including tables, desks and shelving that were specifically designed by the practice to create a comprehensive vision.
To meet the brief for a home spa De Matos Ryan provided a pool design that did not require supervision. The key characteristics for Health and Safety compliance were that the pool area is no greater than 170m2 and that it has a flat continuous depth of 1200mm, sufficient for tumble turns and exercise swimming but presenting no abrupt or sudden changes in depth. Access is restricted and monitored by an identifiable key fob system.
The metamorphosis of this site and the representation of its original shed have made a significant contribution to both the landscape and the community that use it. De Matos Ryan’s approach is transferable to other portal frame structures on the expanding estate that reclaims the land for people and nature rather than industry.
