COURTYARDS

“The atrium is the first place you enter,” says Leidner. “Traditionally, it’s a hardscaped area with some potted plants, but we wanted it to be more like a full garden, right in the middle of the house.”

Sliding doors from PGT Industries open onto a courtyard planted with a giant aloe and two Madagascar palms. A Nordyne HVAC system embedded in the plinth helps the house keep a low profile. The siding is by James Hardie Building Products.

The picture window in the bedroom frames one of two trees on the site.

The smallest of the three courtyards is accessible via stairs off the kitchen. Large glazing provides visibility from the main living space.

The courtyards are surrounded by cream colored walls and infilled with indigenous vegetation.

Franchesca Watson Garden Design spearheaded the landscape design.

The walls are painted with zero-VOC biodegradable E-Color paint.

Lockyer added native desert plans to a courtyard near the garage.

The home's solar canopy features prefabricated aluminum shading elements and five three-kilowatt photovoltaic arrays.

In search of a quiet getaway that could double as a vacation and holiday hub for extended family and friends, a Mexico City couple found a three-and-a-half-acre property in Valle de Bravo and reached out to architect Javier Sánchez to come up with a design that would make the most of the site. Architects Sánchez and Carlos Mar created a home with three volumes using board-formed concrete walls accented with charred wood.