8 Modern Driveways
These various modern homes prove that the driveway is just as important to a piece of architecture as the rest of the design.
When designing a residence, the driveway can sometimes be an afterthought. Does it lead you to the house and provide enough room for parking? Great, done. But beyond the basic practical needs they serve, they also provide opportunities to integrate new technology, support stormwater infiltration, and create a beautiful first impression of a home.
Goldberg-Champagne Residence
Location: Oxnard, California
Two University of California professors hired local architect Daniel Garness to design a beach getaway that would provide ample space for themselves and their children and grandchildren. The main floor dining area opens up to both the interior courtyard and the driveway, which mimics the facade with linear detailing.
The ground floor, which opens to the rear driveway and a pond in the private side garden, allows for easy indoor-outdoor dining and entertaining.
Photo: Shawn Records
River Garden Trail Residence
Location: Austin, Texas
Architect Michael Hsu designed this home for a motorcycle racer who wanted to take better advantage of the stunning views offered by the property. The former residence was demolished and replaced with a more modern home, including a sleek driveway made with concrete pads and a sliding gate that offers ample parking space.
Exterior - driveway
Photo Courtesy of Texas Construction Company
Z-Haus
Location: Portland, Oregon
The Z-Haus, designed and developed by architect Ben Waechter and his wife, realtor Daria Crymes, is a two-unit, six-story infill home in Northeast Portland that incorporates many sustainable building techniques. The double driveway is constructed out of concrete pavers and squares of Corsican mint, letting rainwater percolate into the ground. One would expect nothing less from a new home in a city that has become synonymous with green living.
Instead of installing a typical cement slab driveway, Waechter and Crymes opted for concrete pavers mixed with patches of Corsican mint that let rainwater permeate into the ground.
Photo: Shawn Records
Zim-Wex Residence
Location: Long Island, New York
When the Manhattanite owners originally bought this Long Island property, the existing small cottage didn't suit the needs of their growing family. The couple enlisted Resolution 4: Architecture to design a brand new home that would offer them a refuge from the city. The driveway brings visitors into the breezeway between the two main wings of the home.
Tanya Wexler and Amy Zimmerman linger in the breezeway designed to draw eyes, and footsteps, from the driveway through the house to the gently sloping backyard and swimming pool beyond.
Photo: João Canziani
Gradual Slopes
Location: Jackson, Wyoming
Abramson Teiger Architects designed this home to blend seamlessly into the hillside and take full advantage of the view of the Grand Teton mountain range. The dramatic, dark driveway follows the natural grade of the slope and leads to the back of the cantilevered home, avoiding any intrusion on the lush landscape views from the front.
The driveway entrance introduces the stately side of the home, displaying clean lines made of concrete and Cor-Ten steel. Almost every material implemented in this home was done so to create a maintenance-free space that withstands the weather and betters with age. The design required minimal alteration of the site, a notable accomplishment in land preservation. To maintain the natural grade, the structure is elevated and cantilevered at the slope, held up by columns which needed only a small amount of foundation work. The only major land disturbance occurs in the recessed garage, which has been supplemented with a green roof on top to preserve the meadow.
Plane House
Location: Skiathos, Greece
This family vacation home was designed for a set of brothers by K-Studio, an Athens-based architectural firm helmed by another set of brothers. The family affair resulted in the stunning two-story Plane House. The driveway, much like the rest of the home, incorporates elements of the local landscape through a central tree and slate that was sourced from a nearby quarry.
In an effort to root the home to its location, the team elected to use dry-stacked slate quarried from a nearby island for much of the main structure. "These walls are common in the Pelion area of Greece," says Achilleas.
Photo: Andrea Wyner
Sarti Residence
Location: Seattle, Washington
This minimal and permeable driveway leads to David and Jodi Sarti's little red home, hidden behind two other residential properties in Seattle's Central District. Sarti designed and built the residence himself, on a limited budget and a restricted 40-by-50-foot lot.
David Sarti's little red house in Seattle's sleepy Central District proves that a bit of land, ambition, and carpentry know-how can go a long way. photo by: Misha Gravenor
Photo: Misha Gravenor
Jesse Bornstein and Rob Fissmer’s Layered Home
At the Santa Monica home of architect Jess Bornstein and his family, each window was planned to frame interesting vistas or to find the best sight lines around adjoining buildings. To help divide up a shared driveway on the hillside location, they created a "spite fence."
Photo: Catherine Ledner
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