Picture yourself floating in a pool,
With looking-glass walls and floor in the sky.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the ceiling,
That sits so incredibly high.
Sounds unreal, right? Well, it's not. These days, in certain ultra deluxe apartments, the new must-have amenity is a glass-bottomed sky pool. Upscale skyscrapers around the world include such glass infinity pools and by doing so, they've surely up'd, up'd, up'd the real estate ante with the sky as the limit. Literally.
So, come take a plunge and view some of these glass-bottomed sky pools (pictured below) through rose-colored goggles: where life is the sweetest as you float amongst marshmallow clouds and diamond skies.
Private Island of Félicité
Photo: zilpasyon.com
This residential oasis, dubbed Residence One, consists of seventeen villas on the private island of Félicité in the Indian Ocean. All of the villas are located on a hilltop with panoramic views of the prismatic turquoise waters. Could the living quarters here get any better than these jaw-dropping views? Turns out, they do.
One bi-level villa includes a master suite that expands across the entire second level while the entertainment area, as well as additional bedrooms, are on the main level. The master suite features its own glass-bottomed pool that also serves as the skylight (casting ever-changing reflections) to the entertainment area luxuriously spread out below.
Who needs to swim with the dolphins when you can float amongst your guests?
London, England
Photo: www.embassygardens.com
London's Embassy Gardens is scheduled to open this year and will consist of two residential skyscrapers with a sky pool in between that connects these superstructures. The twin towers will include 2,000 apartments, starting at approximately $813,000, and rising to about $7 million for the penthouse suite.
The most highly anticipated amenity is the 82-foot long, ten-foot-deep, see-through pool that will allow members of the development's exclusive club to swim between towers ten storeys up in the sky.
Reaching for the horizon just took on a whole new meaning.
Photo: www.embassygardens.com
Cascais, Portugal
Photo: www.ricardooliveiraalves.com
This residential paradise in Portugal, labelled The Wall House, has two perpendicular swimming pools, one of which has a glass bottom and floats above the other. A pool sandwich, indeed! This real estate marvel is also anchored by a large patio that opens to an extensive outdoor entertainment area where the double-decker pool parties happen. Regularly.
Houston, Texas
Photo: http://www.marketsquaretower.com
Market Square Tower is a luxury apartment complex in Houston, Texas. It has an infinity sky pool with glass bottom that hangs over the edge of this forty-storey building. Think this: a glass-bottomed pool suspended 500 feet in the air over big-boy, blistering Houston where Texans swim over their city and float in some cool, refreshing water.
Image: http://www.marketsquaretower.com
So, it may be time for you to walk up on high. And step to the edge. To see your world below. Next time you're in Texas, make a friend who lives in this rebel-with-a-cause apartment complex and take the MST plunge.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Photo by Nic Lehoux, www.niclehoux.com
Anaha, a new 40-story residential building in Honolulu, on Oahu, is a mixed-use building with one feature that stands out (literally and figuratively) from the rest: a glass-bottomed pool eighty feet in the air. The pool juts out fifteen feet from the side of the building, providing swimmers with an aeriel view and a feeling of floating amongst the clouds.
Anaha literally means "reflection of light." The complex offers 244 studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom tower residences as well as 73 low-rise flats and townhomes. The building is also designed with curved floor plates and a curtain-wall façade that take on the appearance of an ocean wave, shimmering under the Hawaiian sun.
Vancouver, Canada
Photo: Shaw House, Patkau Architects, www.patkau.ca/projects/shaw-house/
The Shaw House is a residence located in Vancouver, Canada that was designed by Patkau Architects. It boasts an amazing swimming pool placed above a lengthy, oblong corridor. The pool has a see-through bottom which means that its glass bottom also serves as a skylight for the space below that has no windows or openings. In this way, the natural light still manages to be an integral part of the design.
What's next? Who knows. Perhaps a series of swimming pools placed within each apartment's balcony? Glass-bottomed airplanes? Both are rumored to be underway.
In the interim, it's time for you to climb in the back and keep your head in the clouds, so you can be gone. Awaiting to be taken away by the next luxe amenity yet to be designed.
