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"We wanted the pavilion to be freestanding and to have minimal columns, so using CLT, which can span a long distance without support, made sense,” explains resident Anyeley Hallová.

If you already have a projector, white sheets and some popcorn are all you need to create your own outdoor cinema. Alternatively, you can set up a backyard screening with a monitor, TV stand, and an extension cord.

The large deck space acts as an outdoor living area in warmer months, and has exterior heaters so the space can be used for outdoor entertaining on cooler evenings. It is constructed from FutureWood, a sustainable composite product made from sawdust and recycled plastic.

The home is designed to encourage outdoor circulation, but nearly all at a single story, to allow the clients to age in place.

"The brief was to efficiently and cost effectively transform a light-starved weatherboard into an open and modern home with a good connection to the rear garden and a relaxed yet refined feel," says the firm. The owner charred and oiled the shiplapped cypress siding himself.

The addition is connected to the existing home by a glass "bridge" that serves as the entry and maintains visual continuity through to the backyard.

Entry walkway leading to the front door and eventually to the grill and down to the pool

Both structures step out to small south-facing terraces.

A winding path connects the two south-facing structures.

Greenery at the entrance of the home.

Modern Atrium House The owners, inspired by mid-century modern architecture, hired Klopf Architecture to design an Eichler-inspired 21st-Century, energy efficient new home that would replace a dilapidated 1940s home. The home follows the gentle slope of the hillside while the overarching post-and-beam roof above provides an unchanging datum line. The changing moods of nature animate the house because of views through large glass walls at nearly every vantage point. Every square foot of the house remains close to the ground creating and adding to the sense of connection with nature.

The atrium as it connects to the rest of the house.

The home is immersed in the surrounding nature.

The home is designed around a central courtyard. During the demolition of a rear addition from the 1930s, the profile of the original rear of the 1885 house was discovered. "We articulated this in the facade as a black silhouette referencing the house’s original form," says architect Joe Agius. "In a sense, it's a public art historic interpretation piece, and is viewable from the courtyard and the side street."

A courtyard creates visual separation between the main house and the addition.