Building Modern Pavilions

McKay devised a modular system of arches that would define the open-air structure. Using the donated cypress and aluminum, he created six wall-and-roof modules and slid them closer together or further apart to accomodate the existing trees and roots. "Because there are so many trees on the site, we had to negotiate a system in the initial design phase," McKay says. "When we were constructing the pavilion, if we hit a root, and we did, we could just move the modular without it affecting the overall design or construction." Photo by Frank Doering.

Stephen Yablon Architect's guest pavilion is a modern interpretation of a local Charleston building style—the single, a long box usually one-room-wide in order to capitalize on cross breezes. It's clad in louvers fabricated from sustainably-harvested ipe wood, which resists moisture in humid climates. Photo: Michael Moran.

A section of a Sullivan's Island beach house shows the covered veranda space underneath the 1,500 square foot addition.

Todd, a software developer, met Carpenter when the two collaborated on website projects. As the Dominey family grew, Todd and his wife, Heather, both fans of the Case Study Houses and the work of Alvar Aalto, Richard Neutra, and Donald Judd, asked Carpenter to develop a scheme for additional space in a modern style.

In addition to the covered pavilion, the structure Carpenter designed includes an exterior deck, garden, and driveway. The biggest obstacle was siting the components around the initially sick white oak tree.

Holl designed rectangular punctures in the various roofs and in the central pool of water to allow bars of light to dance and play on the interior.

A watercolor by architect Steven Holl was an early step toward translating an obscure musical score by István Anhalt into a new home and gallery in Seoul, South Korea