Landscape

The exterior walls of the Bercy house are constructed with Thermasteel, panels made from galvanized steel and a unique resin that provide structural framing, insulation, and vapor barrier with an R-29 rating twice the required amount. “We have so much glass that we have to offset it by having very efficient ceiling and wall systems,” says Bercy. “We wanted movable glass walls instead of tiny little sliding glass doors that pop off their tracks all the time,” says Bercy. So he and Chen tracked down the double-glazed, insulated, six-by-nine-foot doors rom a company called Fleetwood. “They’re a little more expensive, but when you slide the heavy doors open, you’re making a profound gesture to leave the house and step outside,” says Bercy. The word “doorknob” isn’t used much around the house for the simple reason that there aren’t any. “We didn’t want to clutter the house up with traditional hardware,” says Bercy. Instead, they used pulls found in boats that lie flush when not in use so that the doors become hinged extensions of the walls—the idea being that the door disappears and the core appears continuous.

The Andersen Architectural Collection’s Eagle windows and doors provide the panes and passageways of the home.

“From the street, it appears as a rectangular building with sloping shed roofs, but this is actually an illusion,” Hutchison notes. “The floor plan is actually U-shaped, wrapping around an entry courtyard that is contained by the continuous west facade.” A standing seam metal roof by Custom Bilt Metals blends in with the cedar siding.

A section of the facade—a cross between a shoji screen and a barn door—slides open. Planter boxes contain edible varieties that fuel Mary’s culinary explorations.

The exterior of Riley's Cove, built by Tanner Construction.

“When you enter the courtyard, you realize that you have left the forest and entered the house,” Hutchison says. “We spoke often with [the clients] about the quality of this courtyard. [The client] likes to call it his own Zen garden, although I think that he also likes that the courtyard facade serves to keep the numerous elk in the area at bay.” Concrete pavers, gravel, and ipe decking cover the ground.

The addition is clad in grooved painted plywood and the new deck is made from blackbutt wood, the sort used for wharves.

This serene retreat by acclaimed Italian designers Ludovica+Roberto Palomba, carved out of a 17th-century oil mill in Salento, demonstrates the charm of historic Italy.

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.

Hōsen-in (2011) - The absence of windows frames the gardens as a natural extension of the meditation space. The effect is an immersive indoor-outdoor experience.

A view from the master bedroom to a private garden courtyard. This room, like many in the home, features a lift and slide door that disappears into a wall pocket, creating an unfettered opening to the outdoors. The bedroom includes mahogany wainscoting, a traditional use of wood on the walls, in this case up to a height of 4’ 9”.

“The home is quite small, but designed in such a way that you don’t feel it,” Herrin says. Lift-slide openings by Quantum Windows & Doors, which were fabricated fewer than 50 miles from the house, make the main living space seem larger.

Museum of Anthropology grounds, 1976, Vancouver, BC, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander “There is a real conversation between Arthur Erickson’s building, with its soaring glass walls and sharp angles that carry you physically outside, and the grounds, designed by Oberlander. Both picturesque and modern, with these indigenous plants and full-scale totem poles that ground the building—it’s visionary.”

Kartheiser’s private courtyard includes a covered seating area and fire pit, designed by Roberts.

Helsinki architect Ville Hara and designer Linda Bergroth collaborated on a prefab shed-meets-sleeping cabin, which can be assembled with little else than a screwdriver. Bergroth, inspired by nomadic yurt dwellers, wanted an indoor/outdoor experience for her property in Finland.

A deep-red door adds a pop of color to the ipe-enclosed front courtyard of this modern home in Winter Park, Florida. Maintaining an indoor/outdoor connection was important to the family, as was a simple and sustainable material palette that includes wood and polished concrete.