2022 PHTA Gold · Vanishing edge

A hillside vanishing-edge pool: 2022 PHTA Gold

Arcing deck jets, a rock waterfall and a shade pergola above the valley lights.

Award: Gold · 2022 PHTA International Awards of Excellence
Category: Residential Pools with a Vanishing Edge
Listed by: Pool & Hot Tub Alliance (phta.org) (opens in a new tab)
Design & build: Morris Pools

This hillside pool won Gold in Residential Pools with a Vanishing Edge at the 2022 PHTA International Awards of Excellence. It was Morris Pools’ first PHTA award, and the start of five consecutive years of wins.

The setting

Set high above the valley, the pool turns its edge toward the view. Arcing laminar deck jets cross the water, a rock waterfall anchors one end, and a shade pergola with lounge seating looks out over the city. At dusk the pool glows blue against the lights below.

Another view of the 2022 PHTA Gold-winning pool: laminar deck jets, a fire feature and the valley view at dusk — The pool at dusk, looking out over the valley.

What the category rewards

A vanishing edge is judged on what you can’t see as much as what you can: an edge level to within a fraction of an inch, a catch basin and hydraulics that keep the sheet of water unbroken, and a structure that works with the slope. Those are the standards behind every vanishing edge we build. Our vanishing-edge pools page explains them in detail, and how hillside review works in Paradise Valley and Scottsdale.

Since 2022, two more Morris Pools vanishing edges have been recognized by PHTA, both with Bronze in 2025. See the PHTA 2022 winners (opens in a new tab) ↗

Case studies