remember those step down living rooms / conversation pits from the 60s? i don't remember them either, because i was born in the 80s but you can see pictures of like "modern" houses from california or in penthouses. they are swank as shit looking and there is something universally cozy about being down in a little pit like that with your people. i think they work better in corners, but nevertheless...
as i understand it, they are fucked up logistically and easy injure oneself. if you're bringing people food and drink, you either have to enter the pit via steps or you're practically crawling to hand something in. also, if you're intoxicated, they're easy to fall into. this being the primary reason designers rarely put them into regular houses anymore, as it was explained to me.
i have thought about putting something like this in my backyard a lot. not to this level of intensity, more like a sunken and seasonally covered seating area. like 10 oz drawn canvas strung around with a hole over the center. sort of a nano coliseum vibe. my water drainage situation is ideal for getting away with this and i am very tempted, but honestly i would probably only sink it 6" or 1' and use hardscaping and canvas/lighting on poles around it to enhance the sunken/protected feeling with a firepit in the center.
but make no mistake, i think this looks super cool (maybe add some safety rails lol?) and i would love to hang out in it and talk to the guy who put it in about the process of converting the old pool into a cozy/private hangout spot. much of what i think is dumb about detached single family homes is from the wasted opportunity to create social spaces in favor of some dumb lawn. assuming things move in the right direction for these types of zones with more of an allowance for neighborhood bars, accessory dwelling units, multi-family units, community/merged backyards, little neighborhoods could transition over time into something very appealing and accommodating to a wide variety of third spaces.
