A slim dark frame, timber boards, and a glass enclosure now occupy a clearing on a steep slope near Nova Lima, Minas Gerais. The new structure, Deck Açucena, turns the site into a forest pool deck, adding a swimming pool and a sauna to a forest house. It covers 78.22 square meters, or about 842 square feet.
The house that set the terms
The deck extends Açucena House, which TETRO Arquitetura designed around the trees on the same site. The house rises about 15 meters on stilts, and its white exterior stands out against the foliage. The architects Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, and Igor Macedo treated the steep ground as an asset, according to the firm’s project description.
The deck faced a narrower question. How could this pool deck design add leisure space without repeating the house at a smaller scale? The answer was to make the addition quieter, both in its materials and in its footprint. The approach has local precedent in residential architecture. The house rises above the ground, leaving the flora and fauna beneath it undisturbed.
Timber pavilions that sit lightly within a landscape have a long history in Japan, and this one offers a restful pause among the fields. Wooden Pavilion Offering a Rest Spot in Nara’s Rice Fields shows how a small timber structure can frame its surroundings.
Dark steel, slender frames
The pool deck design uses steel and dark finishes chosen to echo the tones and shadows of the Atlantic Forest. Its structural members are slender, which keeps the framework light among the trunks. Where the house reads as a white flower in the leaves, the deck fades toward the shade.
The layout unfolds in sequence. A broad terrace with room for a table narrows into a long platform fitted with loungers. The pool and sauna sit farther along. At its far end, the deck bends around the trees, so each stage of the walk reveals a different view.
On this pool deck, timber boards form a continuous floor. Black posts and thin horizontal railings mark the edges without closing them off. Vegetation stays visible beneath and beside the platform, so leaves share the same view as the furniture.
The glazed sauna sits at the end of the route. A dark frame holds transparent walls and a pitched glass roof, which keeps the trees visible through several layers of glass. Inside, reflections of the glass, the water, and the foliage overlap. The room has a clear shape, but its edges stay open to the forest.
A forest pool deck as a destination in the trees
The addition works as a place to arrive at rather than a patio attached to the house. A timber route leads to a glass room, and that ending gives the walk a purpose. The sequence is built from a few modest elements, placed with care around trees that were left standing.
Via yankodesign.com
Frequently asked questions
How large is the Deck Açucena pool deck?
The Deck Açucena pool deck covers 78.22 square meters, or about 842 square feet. It adds a swimming pool and a sauna to a forest house near Nova Lima, Minas Gerais.
Where is the Deck Açucena pool deck located?
The Deck Açucena pool deck is in a clearing on a steep slope near Nova Lima, Minas Gerais. It extends the Açucena House, which sits on the same site.
Who designed the house that the pool deck extends?
TETRO Arquitetura designed Açucena House, which the deck extends. The architects named in the project description are Carlos Maia, Débora Mendes, and Igor Macedo.
What materials does the forest pool deck use?
The deck uses dark steel frames with slender structural members, timber boards for the floor, and black posts with thin horizontal railings. The sauna has a dark frame holding transparent walls and a pitched glass roof.
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