Introduction

There are some ideas that begin with a business opportunity. Others begin with a memory.

For Vikash Kumar M, Founder and Creative Head of Biosphere Nature Pools LLP, the idea began with water itself, the kind that felt alive.

Growing up swimming in ponds and wells on his family’s ancestral land near Pollachi, Vikash became familiar with a very different relationship with water. It was clear, cool, natural and, most importantly, alive. Years later, when he wanted to introduce that same experience to his son, he found himself searching for something that the Indian pool industry did not yet offer.

That search eventually became Biosphere Pools, a venture built around the idea that a swimming pool can be more than a constructed body of water. It can become a living ecosystem, one that works with nature rather than simply controlling it.

Turning a Childhood Memory into a New Possibility

Vikash’s journey into the world of natural pools was anything but conventional. A Chartered Accountant by background, he was not originally a pool builder. Yet, his curiosity led him to explore whether biologically filtered pools could work in India.

The answer he found abroad was compelling. Germany and Austria had been developing natural swimming pools for decades, including public pools maintained by municipalities. For Vikash, this offered an important insight: the concept was proven; what India needed was adaptation.

“The heat, the monsoon, the local plant species, the water chemistry. None of it is the same as Europe,” he explains.

Biosphere’s journey therefore became one of experimentation, adaptation and understanding India’s unique ecological conditions. Rather than simply replicating an overseas model, the company worked towards creating a system suited to the Indian landscape.

That distinction sits at the heart of the brand.

Making the Pool Part of the Ecosystem

The philosophy behind a Biosphere pool is beautifully simple: instead of treating water as something that needs to be chemically controlled, create an ecosystem where nature can continuously participate in keeping it clean.

A biophilic pool essentially consists of two interconnected zones, the swimming area and a regeneration zone where aquatic plants and beneficial microbial colonies perform the filtration work.

Water continuously moves between these spaces. Plants absorb nutrients that would otherwise encourage algae, while beneficial bacteria contribute to the biological filtration process. Additional stages, including phosphate binding and oxidation, support the system in maintaining clarity.

The result is a pool that feels less like an isolated structure and more like an extension of the landscape.

For Vikash, the most intuitive way of explaining this philosophy is through the idea of living water.

“Ask whether the water is alive or dead,” he says.

It is a question that captures the larger thinking behind Biosphere: water does not necessarily have to be sterilised to be clean. It can instead be balanced.

Rethinking What Pool Wellness Can Mean

The conversation around swimming pools has traditionally revolved around design, luxury and recreation. Vikash believes there is an opportunity to broaden that conversation towards wellness.

A pool is something people come into direct contact with repeatedly, particularly children and families who swim frequently. That makes the quality and nature of the water an important part of the overall experience.

For Biosphere, this has meant exploring a chemical-conscious approach that prioritises biological filtration and a more natural relationship between water, plants and the surrounding environment.

The philosophy extends beyond the swimmer.

A conventional pool eventually enters a cycle of drainage and refilling. Biosphere’s approach is designed around retaining the established body of water, with routine water addition primarily accounting for evaporation. The water can also remain compatible with surrounding gardens and landscapes.

In a country where water conservation is becoming increasingly important, this creates an interesting intersection between luxury living and ecological responsibility.

Where Luxury Meets Landscape

The changing expectations of premium homeowners and hospitality spaces are creating new possibilities for natural pools.

Vikash observes that the meaning of a pool has evolved. Particularly after the pandemic, outdoor spaces became an increasingly important part of how people experienced and evaluated their homes.

The pool is no longer simply a visual symbol of luxury. It is increasingly expected to contribute to the experience of living.

That is where Biosphere’s proposition becomes particularly interesting.

Instead of designing a pool that sits within the landscape, the company is imagining water that belongs to the landscape.

For premium homes, resorts and hospitality spaces, this creates a different kind of luxury, one rooted in sensory experience, nature and thoughtful design.

Building Trust Through Experience

Introducing a new category requires more than explaining an idea. It requires people to experience it.

In Biosphere’s early journey, Vikash found that standing beside a finished natural pool could communicate more than lengthy explanations ever could.

The moment someone puts their hand into the water, observes the clarity and experiences the environment around it, the concept becomes tangible.

This experiential approach has been central to the company’s evolution.

The conversation around natural pools in India is also beginning to mature. What was once an unfamiliar concept is increasingly becoming a considered option for homeowners, architects and developers looking to create differentiated outdoor environments.

For Vikash, that shift represents an encouraging sign for the category.

Designing for India, Not Just Importing an Idea

One of the most important aspects of Biosphere’s story is its emphasis on localisation.

Natural pools may have a long history in European markets, but India presents a completely different environmental canvas. Summers, monsoons, regional water chemistry and indigenous plant species all influence how an ecosystem performs.

Biosphere’s work has therefore involved understanding these variables and developing an approach that can thrive within Indian conditions.

Global inspiration has provided the foundation, but local adaptation has shaped the product.

It is this balance between established ecological principles and Indian sensibilities that could help natural pools move from being an emerging concept to a recognised category.

The Economics of a Living System

A natural pool also invites homeowners to look at value differently.

The upfront investment can be higher than that of a conventional pool, but Vikash believes the more meaningful comparison is over the entire lifecycle of the pool.

Chemical procurement, maintenance, water replacement and long-term operational requirements all contribute to the cost of owning a conventional system. A natural pool, meanwhile, operates through a living ecosystem that requires a different kind of care.

“It is different, not harder,” Vikash says of maintenance.

That distinction reflects Biosphere’s larger philosophy. The objective is not simply to remove one component from a conventional pool. It is to rethink how the entire system functions.

From Novelty to a New Category

Looking ahead, Vikash sees a future where natural pools become a familiar part of India’s premium residential and hospitality landscape.

He believes architects and landscape designers will increasingly consider them alongside conventional pool systems, rather than treating them as an unusual alternative.

But for the category to grow sustainably, quality and methodology will matter.

As more players enter the space, building the right standards and ensuring that natural pool systems are designed properly will become increasingly important. For Biosphere, establishing that foundation is part of the larger mission.

The company is not simply building pools. It is helping create an ecosystem around a new way of thinking about water.

A Different Way to Experience Water

At the heart of Vikash’s journey is a deceptively simple idea: perhaps the best swimming experience is one that feels closest to nature.

From childhood memories of swimming in ponds near Pollachi to building biologically filtered pools for contemporary Indian homes, his journey has connected the emotional experience of water with the possibilities of ecological design.

And perhaps that is what makes Biosphere’s proposition compelling.

It does not ask us to see sustainability as a compromise to luxury. Instead, it suggests that the two can coexist, that a premium outdoor space can be beautiful, functional, restorative and deeply connected to its environment.

For Vikash, the future of pools may therefore not be about making water more controlled.

It may be about allowing water to live.

-By Arushi Agarwal