[Ed. Note: Adorable Asian children not included - so back off all you Madonna and Brangelina wannabes…]
I’m pretty sure I saw this project in April’s issue of Dwell - but regardless, it’s sick and had to be on AMNP [I couldn’t risk any of you ninjas missing out - it would’ve been irresponsible of me]. Essentially an adaptive-reuse project, the project transformed a warehouse in a mixed-use neighborhood into a courtyard house [obviously, as the name suggests].
The Courtyard House was inspired by an ancient form of architecture and a new form of North American urban thinking - infill housing as an alternative urban typology.
By converting a contractor warehouse in a mixed-use industrial neighborhood, the ambition was to create a modern, affordable home and studio for a family of four - one which could successfully adapt to a mid-block or laneway situation, where there is no typical front or back. The design of the house is generated by an emphasis on the views and activities of the interior courtyards, where all the windows look inwards.
My question is this: why are courtyard homes not more prevalent in ‘urban’ areas that are more dense than our suburbs, but still not so dense that single [or 2 family] homes aren’t practical? So many communities - the one I live in, for example - are ‘urban’, yet have an abundance of 1 and 2 family homes with yards, etc. These homes are on narrow lots and are often-times pressed for space - yet they still opt to pull back from the street so as to make a gesture to the American lawn, while facing the street like so many suburban homes [regardless of street traffic, etc]. While the project featured here is obviously a converted warehouse, and seems like it may be a little too disconnected [internally] from the street visually - the typology obviously works and makes sense. Use the volume of the house to create private, outdoor spaces.
::Photos by Rob Fiocca:: .:images and info via-> Studio Junction:.
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