The Journal

Infinity pools are often perceived as a modern extravagance, yet they are far older and more deliberate than their contemporary conception might suggest. One of the earliest precedents of the vanishing-edge concept can be traced to France in the 17th century, where water features such as the Stag Fountain at the Palace of Versailles were designed to dissolve their boundaries into the surrounding landscape. These pools were not conceived for leisure, but as architectural strategies, using water to extend space visually beyond its physical limits.