ad infinitum the Vanishing Edge pool. Architectural Trompe L’oeil
ad infinitum means “Without an end or limit”
Pools, Mirrors, Staircases and other examples of Architectural Trompe L’oeil by Jerry Jacobs Design and other Architects and Designers.
That is the case of Vanishing Edge pools, opposing mirrors, spiral staircases are all subject to ad infinitum. It is not the Object or its use but what it conveys to your mind.
I have always been fascinated with what is at the end. Where is the end? Is there an end? Endless and ahead, a road hard to complete. I have always been intrigued on where do the “Stairways to Heaven” lead to?
Art & Architecture.
Architecture and Interior Design as does music, poetry, film or other Arts can convey the meaning or the feeling of “Infinity”, “Eternity” or “Endless”, in some ways; or another dimension. If the purpose is to entertain, or is the purpose simply to extend the perspective of the mind through the eye?
Arts work also in tandem with the Architecture or Interior Design of the space. When you are in a certain space you also smell a perfume or sent, you hear music, touch the wall and so on.
Film.
There is the “Stairway to Heaven” album from Led Zeppelin, or  the “Stairway to Lenin”, award wining short film by Zbigniew (Zbig) Rybcynski shown at night on Arts Showcase playing to Ravel’s Bolero, where people keep climbing and endless staircase,  a great short film to watch. Which of course could not be conveyed without the “Staircase”, poetic and musical or without the music of the Bolero, on and on and on forever.
Fibonacci Sequence from thedesigninspiration.com  Do you see the end? I don’t, if there is one. There is a vanishing edge.Â
The Mobius band, a single sided surface, is it single sided or is it made to be? If there is no beginning there is no end.
And then those which we have had a chance to design objects of Architecture or Interiors such  Vanishing Edge Pools, Opposing Mirrors, spiral staircases have noticed something similar happening there. In the case of the Vanishing Edge Pools, the eye is telling certain points of perspective the there is no end to the pool, that it is actually part of the sea, or the horizon, and in the Opposing mirrors, we don’t really know if we are here or there, or is there another dimension. Who knows, who cares, I just care for the Art. The way in which an image or a space can not only fool the eye as in Tromp-l’oeil, but the mind as if we were really somewhere else. Just a dream.
Professional research and reasoning.
Architecture and Interior Design examples.
At the Hacienda on the Beach, it was an easy choice. The beauty of the Caribbean Ocean, drags you in just like the song of the Siren.
Hacienda on the Beach. Architecture and Interior Design by Jerry Jacobs Design
At Villa on the Beach, they asked us to fit the largest possible pool, so we encompassed the Ocean. Architecture and Interior Design by Jerry Jacobs Design
Even a spa can have a vanishing edge or two.
At waterfront Townhouse, the SPA off the master Bedroom, with a corner vanishing edge. Architecture and Interior Design by Jerry Jacobs Design
Opposite Mirrors can have a similar endless effect. If you want to transfer the mind why not.
Hall of Mirrors Bath, Hellman mansion, Pacific Heights, San Francisco. I can see 6 or 7 times reality, however it can keep going forever. Interior Design by Jerry Jacobs Design
If design comes with opportunities to transport the mind, then why not do so?
Credits, Sources and Links.
External Links.
- 7.5.25 The Guardian. Optical Illusion. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jul/05/optical-illusions-see-world-perception
- YouTube. Staircase to Heaven.
- Mirrors in Architecture possibilities of reflected space, from ArchDaily.
History.
- Interesting reading on Bath, England. The famous Roman Baths in England.
Internal Link.
Mirrored Walls & mirrors. https://jerryjacobsdesign.com/mirrored-walls-reflections-past-and-future/
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