Osso Architecture models timber pool house in New Jersey on horse arena

Brooklyn-based studio Osso Architecture has built a pool house on a New Jersey horse farm, utilising standard timber framing and the skills of the local Amish community.

The pool house was completed for the owners of an equestrian farm outside Stockton, and borrowed ideas from the site’s large indoor riding arena.

This existing building is constructed primarily from standard 2×4 and 2×6 timber members, which form a truss system to span the arena.

“While not noticeable in the arena, we knew we wanted to take this key design feature and create a focal point out of it in our design,” said Osso Architecture.

Working with King Barns, an Amish team based nearby, the architects scaled down the arena’s form to create a much smaller barn-like structure.

The truss system is exposed overhead, held together by black metal plates and rivets, while longer metal elements brace the walls.

“Our design highlights the truss by bringing it down into the space and putting it on display,” Osso said.

“This required creating physical study models, 3D renderings and close collaboration with our fantastic engineer to come up with a design that is both beautiful and functional.”

Reached via a stepped wooden boardwalk that crisscrosses a meadow, the pool house contains a kitchen at the far end, a dining area in the centre, and a lounge space on the near side.

A bathroom is tucked around the back, along with an outdoor shower for rinsing off after a dip.

Sliding slated panels cover the longer sides of the structure, enabling users to open up or enclose the space as they wish.

These panels shelter the interior from the wind and sun and extend the use of the building beyond the summer months.

A floating black fireplace is suspended from the roof, and its chimney extends high above the gabled roofline that’s covered in a metal raised-seam system, contrasting the warm-toned wood beneath.

Simple hardwearing furniture is placed inside, echoing the spare and essential nature of the structure.

Pool houses typically offer more aesthetic freedom for architects than primary residences, due to their smaller size, seasonal usage and placement away from the main dwelling.

Others who have been creative with their designs include Knox Bhavan, which buried a brick pool house in Kent beneath grassy mound, and Partisans, which topped an Ontario pool house with an undulating compressed-oak roof.

The photography is by Erik Bernstein.