Swimming pool in steampunk style

VII MIRACULA team is fortunate to obtain non-standard projects, like this one. This swimming pool became a real pride for our artists and engineers. We thought that it would be extremely exciting to design the pool in steampunk style. Its industrial look refers to the age of engines, planes and cars.

Aims and objectives:

  • To work out the design concept of the swimming pool including elements of steampunk style
  • To apply camouflage facing to mask utility systems on one of the walls

Overall results: VII MIRACULA team developped a design project, that was later turned into reality within 4 months. Apart from the pool, our artists created 2 bas-relieves of various degrees of difficulty. VII MIRACULA architectural concrete and other construction materials (i.e. paints), that are implemented during building works, are perfectly applicable in wet areas, that’s why we guaranty, that all art objects made in our studio will delight the eye for years to come.

Slideshow

Wall decoration: faux-stone cladding

Walls are decorated by polygonal stonework that is somewhat akin to the one that the ancient Incas used in their constructions. Fortunately, we didn’t have to follow their example and put huge stoneblocks on the top of each other. We decided to resort to a far less time-consuming technology. A metal framework, that rests on a wall, is covered with VII MIRACULA architectural concrete. Then, the sculptors carve our the stones with all cracks and chips, that a thousand-year slab may have. Et voilà! An absolute impression of a real ancient stone masonry is ready.

Walls are also coloured manually. To attain a complete imitation of a natural stone, our artists apply paint in thin layers on a pre-primed wall. Paints as well as achitectural concrete of our own making are not affected by water and easily tolerate humidity.

Since the general concept follows steampunk style, we added some elements of industrial: imitation of metal river points on window and door liner jambs. Some parts of utilities system and radiators weren’t hidden deliberately. Quite on the contrary! We asked our artists to highlight them through the usage of paints. Thus, these elements become integral to a quarry-faced masonry.

Industrial luminaires were installed on the walls, wiring was carried out in good time during the installation of the metal framework,all wires were hidden inside the walls, so that they wouldn’t destroy the magic. Shimmer directed light is an intrinsic part of steampunk style. It highlights all the details, such as irregularities in masonry and metal accents that fill this room.

Bas-relief in the entrance area

The entrance area became a portal to the Otherworld. It is decorated by mystical interweaved lines, that to some extent resemble quipu. Magic symbols are margined by two “metal” arcs, forming a circle around the entrance.

It’s hard to believe, but this bas-relief is entirely made from architectural concrete. All elements were cut manually and according to the preliminary-made template.

The relief of the future construction was covered with white priming and then our artists added fundamental colours in thin layers, thus creating the effect of stone surface and aged metal. Compared to the real metal, imitation made from fair-faced concrete is resistant to corrosion and remains untouched by time.

Bas-relief «machinery»

It’s impossible to imagine steampunk without mechanical elements, such as gear-wheels. Above the entrance area our artists created the bas-relief made from architectural concrete, depicting an old metal mechanism. We called this bas-relief «time machine». The bas-relief can be examined in details from the balcony of the first floor. Our team managed to attain the desired goal: to create a realistic metal surface that aged with time by means of multi-layer technique of manual painting and accurate usage of shadowing technique.

What we created was not just a mere wall decoration in the swimming pool, but a vibrant location, that opens up a poral into another time dimension. This project has a clear-cut concept, that is emphasized by details of decking and distinctive local colour that adds harmony to the interior design.

The process of creating swimming pool decoration

The original design solution was completely different. However, in the course of discussion owners of the country house decided to choose dark colours as the main theme for the future art object together with elements of steampunk style.

Pool area before the start of the work. Our technology doesn’t require the preliminary alignment of the walls. In areas, where we had to hide parts of utilities system, we founded metal wall frame, that masked all pipes.

To create a relief, we implemented the method of stone carving. The major challenge of a three-layered bas-relief was that we had to make a separate template for each layer and to match it with the previous one. During the installation process we used scaffolding.

The bas-relief is yet to be covered by several layers of paint to take its final shape. First, the surface of bas-relief was primed. Then, paints were applied on it in thin layers: from light ones to dark ones in order to achieve deep colour. Acrylic paints, that are used in VII MIRACULA studio, do not fade, faint or peel off.