Spa in a Quarry | Elliott Architects

The existing garden included native plantings such as blueberries and sweet fern set amongst the lichen and moss-covered granite tailings from prior industrial activity. The main goal was to create a spa and adjacent seating area in such a way that it felt at home in this beautiful and rustic, yet meticulously maintained, environment.  And to do so in a way that provided minimal site impact.

The home is entered from atop an ocean-facing granite bluff, and steps down the slope towards the water. The spa garden emerges from between the kitchen and living spaces of the house, several levels below the entry. In order to synthesize with its surroundings the spa tub was cut from a single block of granite.  Furthermore, it was depressed into the ground plane lending the feeling that it had been hewn from the existing ledge.  Due to the sheer change in elevation and rocky slope, delivering materials and equipment to the project required great effort and planning.  Fabrication required the creation of a custom core drilling machine and precise machining of stone for mechanical equipment and lighting.  In order to move these pieces in by crane, a gravel pad was created above on a nearby ledge. Heavy equipment, landscaping materials and the tub itself were then lowered into place.

Cut stone pavers form an organic pattern that nests with the surrounding quarry walls.  The spa is part of this sequence and appears as a seamless void in the granite hardscape.  Supplemented with native plantings, the spa and surrounding terrace have an air of timelessness, feeling as if they have been there for a long time.  There are no stylistic overtures; instead these are replaced with a strong sense of materiality which imbues the garden with a sense of silence.  Technology is what made this project possible, but it does not beg for recognition.  The substance of stone, the beauty of nature, and the tranquillity of water are what emerge after the machinery and industry have been stripped away.