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When architect Ian Butcher signed on to design an outdoor space for a local philanthropist and art collector, it turned out to be a double dose of revisiting the past. 

Butcher, a cofounder of Best Practice Architecture, had worked on a handful of projects for the client and his family — including a custom residence and the Western Bridge art gallery — and, as it would turn out, he had been involved in the design and construction of the home where the client currently lived and wanted to install a pool.

Located in Leschi, the house is a project by local architect Eric Cobb.

“Before I started my practice I was working in his office and I was part of the team that designed this house, so I was very familiar with it,” Butcher says. Over the years, Butcher and the client (who moved into the residence before the pandemic) had remained in touch, so when the latter asked about the possibility of building a pool in his yard and then offered the job to Butcher, the architect was all in. But this wouldn’t be an everyday pool addition. The client, an avid swimmer and art enthusiast, wanted to commission custom pieces to integrate into the new yardscape. 

“Art has been a big deal for me for as long as I can remember,” says the client, who asked to remain anonymous. “Ian and I have worked on a couple of things that involved a deep commitment to showing art — and this project did not disappoint.”

While most homeowners would site a pool in their backyard, the property’s layout — and the privacy provided by its setback and strategically placed laurel hedges — made a front-of-the-house positioning preferable. “The front yard was pretty big and flat,” Butcher recalls. “Previously, a stepped green lawn with a series of pavers led to a patio. (The client) had a hot tub that he’d go in every day, but he wanted to be able to swim laps.”

Measuring 11 feet-by-28 feet, the new rectangular pool faces west, with an adjacent grassy lawn providing space for the client’s grandkids to run around or friends to come over and lounge in the sun. Best Practice lowered the elevation to match the house and its patio, creating a long concrete bench at the pool’s edge. A second, smaller bench tucks into the southwest corner of the yard, and a new glass door between the kitchen and patio better connects the house with the landscape, and offers views of Lake Washington from the pool area.

“The client really loved his house, and he didn’t want to make some new statement with the pool,” says Butcher, noting that they kept a minimal material palette that includes durable Ipe wood decking and concrete. “It had to be complementary with the house.”

Four commissioned artworks dot the yard — and one is in the pool. Titled Liquid Center, the custom tile installation is by the late Jim Melchert and his grandson Galen Melchert. Lining the bottom and one end of the pool, the piece mimics the illusion of the wavering swim lines one sees when standing above the water.

“Every time I open the pool, I can only smile at this simple but perfect design,” the client adds.

While Melchert unfortunately passed away last year, his grandson Galen, also an artist, was able to finish the project. Additional work includes a playful, animalistic fountain by local artist Jeffrey Mitchell; Mungo Thomsen’s cheeky painted-bronze delivery-box tower sculpture, part of the artist’s Snowman series; and a lighting installation by Spencer Finch.

Now that summer’s here, the client finds that his formerly unused front yard is a favorite hangout. “(It’s) became the center for family and friends, and, lucky me, art,” the client says. “Everyone who can remember the original yard cannot believe the transformation. The grassy area now available for corn hole and seating seems bigger than the yard that was there. The pool is perfectly sized for hanging out and grandkid fun.”