Inner courtyards
Landscaping is minimal in most of the spaces collected in this ideabook, owing to the fact that direct sunlight happens for a small amount of the day in interior courtyards. Yet bamboo, that wonder grass that wants to grow just about anywhere, is a good green element in these spaces, as this photo makes clear. Its presence softens the space and further connects the occupants to nature, their own little slice of it.
Each house in this semi-detached pair in Dulwich, London is oriented about a double-height courtyard with generous glazing. The Glass and Timber Houses, as they are called, are covered in cedar boards, which peel away at this central court (note the wood above and glass below the stair in the distance) to bring light into the heart of the houses.
Another project in San Francisco, the Tehama Grasshopper, is a renovation of a warehouse by Anne Fougeron. The main living space of the three-story residence is located on the second floor, which features a courtyard cut from the existing floor plate. This space is open to the sky, and the third-floor penthouse is visible above.
This last view of the Victorian renovation illustrates how the articulation of the windows with wood framing reinforces this space's role as a connection to nature. The wood is also a fitting foil to the bamboo and rock garden.
Q