The new structure is a swimming pool/terrace addition to a historic building located in its hidden back courtyard. The rhythm of the frames and the transparency/reflection of the glass dissolve the new structure in the garden rather than making a formal composition with the existing building. Its translucent surface glows with water reflections at dark. The linear internal space is confined by the stone masonry of the classic base and the light and silhouettes between the metal structures. The black stone cladding marks the excavation and integrates the heating system.

I/O architects started in 2004 as a long-distance collaboration between Sofia and Tokyo when Viara Jeliazkova and Georgi Katov developed their first projects. Their work manifests an ambition to combine local experience with external perspective. The design process is marked by sensitivity to the specific context of local landscape, city and society. Reaction varies from admiration to an ironic awareness of the existing inconsistencies. Formal expression is adequately controlled avoiding the risks of transition aesthetics.