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Collection by Jami Smith

Modern Wooden Louver Facades

From New Zealand to South Carolina these seven exteriors are visually distinctive from their surrounding neighbors.

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Trinity Apartments, a six-story, three-tiered complex that sits atop a ridge in Auckland, New Zealand's trendy Parnell neighborhood. The concrete, glass, and cedar structure with 32 roomy apartments (ranging from 750 to 2,350 square feet) is not only striking to look at, but engineered to harness natural light, warmth, and an abundance of cooling breezes. Photo by Simon Devitt.
Trinity Apartments, a six-story, three-tiered complex that sits atop a ridge in Auckland, New Zealand's trendy Parnell neighborhood. The concrete, glass, and cedar structure with 32 roomy apartments (ranging from 750 to 2,350 square feet) is not only striking to look at, but engineered to harness natural light, warmth, and an abundance of cooling breezes. Photo by Simon Devitt.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sliding glass doors made from Viridian’s ComfortPlus glass and yellow cedar wood lead to decks flanking the kitchen and dining room.
Sliding glass doors made from Viridian’s ComfortPlus glass and yellow cedar wood lead to decks flanking the kitchen and dining room.
The wraparound balcony is a playground for four-year-old Kwaku; there he plays soccer, chases the family’s four dogs, and hangs out with his friend and neighbor, Anita.
The wraparound balcony is a playground for four-year-old Kwaku; there he plays soccer, chases the family’s four dogs, and hangs out with his friend and neighbor, Anita.
A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.
A basic box that’s as tall as it is wide (28 feet) and 16 feet long, this Portland, Oregon house consists of rooms stacked vertically: an unfinished basement on the bottom, a kitchen-living area and a bathroom in the middle, and a bedroom on top, with the stairwell hinged onto the front of the home. The only interior doors are those to the bathroom, basement, and root cellar, leaving the rest of the space open and unfettered. At just 704 square feet, Katherine Bovee and Matt Kirkpatrick's home is a great lesson in making the most out of every inch. Click here to see the interior.