Trendy Bowls

Swimming bowls provide dual usage for back yards: a swimming pool for the warm months and a skate-able bowl for winter use. The typical backyard bowl is 1,500 sq. ft. costs between $45,000 and $75,000.
Photos: Pillar Design Studios

Recently, Pillar Design Studios of Tempe, Ariz., a licensed landscape architecture firm that specializes in the action sports industry (skate/BMX and moto parks, public and private) has seen a growing trend in what it calls swimming bowls, dual-use pools that skaters of all abilities have been having installed in their backyards.

These bowls are drawing growing interest with older skaters that now have families. The shape and size of the skateable bowls differ, of course, based on the square footage available and budget. Stairs, tile and coping can be customized to client desires.

Skateboarding is one of the fastest growing sports in the U.S. There has been an average increase of 10 percent participation in the sport over the last three years. Today, there are about 13 million skateboarders in the U.S. Because of the dearth of public skateparks and the crowded conditions at public skateparks, there has been a rising demand for private backyard parks. Working with their East Coast build partner, Artisan Skateparks, Pillar has moved into the private sector, creating aesthetically pleasing recreational spaces the entire family can enjoy. Whether it is a swimming bowl, a small skatepark or skate-able landscapes, the team has embraced the ever-evolving backyard and is changing the meaning of "landscaping" your backyard.

A recent example is a Phoenix client looking for a safe place where their children and neighborhood kids could practice skateboarding. Their 2,500 sq. ft. skatepark was completed for only $44,000.