Pool Pavilion in the Berkshires: Framing Views on a Historic Farmstead

An 1800s farmhouse in the Berkshires sits by the road—practical then, but now it misses the dramatic views across the fields. Architects Faith Rose and Devin O’Neill of O’Neill Rose Architects solved this by orienting a pool and pavilion in an adjoining field. “This allows the clients to take advantage of the amazing views and privacy in a way they hadn’t before,” says Rose.

Connecting the Landscape

The pavilion, sided in white-painted cedar clapboard matching the farmhouse, links historic house, vegetable garden, and active hayfield. An enclosed screened room serves as an outdoor office for the client, a law professor. Ipe decking, fieldstone retaining wall matching the hayfield’s pitch.

Pool Designed for the View

Gunite pool, dark gray, slopes 3 to 5 feet with an underwater bench. A steep slope past the far end drops the code-required 42-inch fence below the sightline—“all you see is water, sky, mountain, and trees.” Wildflower natives from Project Native border the pool.

Practical Details

Asphalt shingle roof (locally sourced, cost-effective). Outdoor shower and changing room with rain-style head. Pathway connects to farmhouse and vegetable garden. The site reads coherently: history, cultivation, and wilderness unified.