This view shows the overall narrow project site and how it transitions from the entry to the lakeside.

The tight dimensions of this site required that the entire lakefront be thought of as an outdoor space with everything in close proximity. The tight site actually led to a very comfortable scale for the outdoor space.

Despite the tight dimension of the site, a small lap pool and spa were designed into the terrace. There is a waterfall feature at the end into the spa. Both pool and spa are covered by an automatic cover that helps keep the heat in. Due to the restrictions of redeveloping lakefront, you are not allowed to encroach any further than the previous building footprint with any structures. This means that the retaining walls and pool had to fit within the previous house footprint.

A board form concrete retaining wall transitions the site grade and creates a pocket facing the lake for an outdoor terrace. One way to extend the outdoor season here in Vermont is to tuck outdoor spaces into recessed pockets. In this case, the concrete retaining wall provides protection from the wind as well as a solar heat mass to make the terrace warmer than it normally would be.