Modern Homes Play a Frame Game With Landscapes

Frames, be they windows, doors or other openings, can serve various purposes, one of which is to limit the extent of an opinion. This can create a place of focus, bring in daylight by a specific side and angle, or enlarge a space by providing a perspective to the area beyond. These outside spaces all have frames connecting them to other spaces. This subject was covered previously on , yet this ideabook looks at some recent additions to the site in the modern/contemporary vein I prefer.

Studio Green

One means of framing the landscape is through a breezeway, which can be a gap between interior spaces, often in buildings. The breezeway in the conclusion of the walk looks to the trees beyond. It’s an interesting element in a home, one which acts like a bridge across a ravine.

Studio Green

An opinion from the side of the breezeway demonstrates it sits over the landscape; a glass guardrail provides safety. There’s also an opening, along with the framing occurring through the breezeway.

AR Design Studio Ltd

Here’s a contemporary box which uses stone walls to define the outside area by the pool and beyond. On each side there are rectangular openings which make the walls less barriers and much more portals to what’s on the opposing side.

AR Design Studio Ltd

A view from another side shows how the frames operate both ways, giving glimpses of the trees in the garden. I could imagine looking through these openings, which can be put at head height, on a walk toward the front doorway.

Davey Smith Architects

A similar tactic can be found in this home in Ireland, in which two openings cut into stone walls framework views of the areas beyond.

Bushman Dreyfus Architects

The walls past the glassy boundaries of the home’s interior reach well into the landscape; the one on the right also rolls the neighboring pond. Small openings in the walls are evident even in the distance.

Bushman Dreyfus Architects

This view is much closer, but from the opposite side of the home, where the formality of the structure is echoed in the terracing of their yard. The portal provides a glimpse into beyond, all of the while providing some much-desired privacy.

D’apostrophe design, inc..

D’apostrophe’s design for a home on New York’s Long Island carries a small pool, a terrace and a pavilion. This view starts to hint in the opening between the two ends of the pavilion.

D’apostrophe design, inc..

A straight-on view shows the perspective that’s framed from the opening, a view that would be especially nice as you’re soaking in the tub. The comparison of the weathered wood against the green landscape is especially strong.

Irwin Fisher, Inc..

Framing via an opening isn’t confined to yards or solid walls in a yard; it can also work in much more intimate spaces. This patio definitely looks toward the right, however a small opening on the side provides a view of the hills that might otherwise be concealed.

Paul Davis Architects

A horizontal opening, divided with a chimney, is visible on the side wall of the home. From here it looks like the opening functions a roof patio.

Paul Davis Architects

From the roof, the opening helps to link the home to its neighbors and supply breezes across the seating area. From that vantage point we see the rooftops beyond, but from the seats the view framed is all sky.

Where is the portal inside this fairly complex contemporary house? It’s on the right side of the photo, in an otherwise good stretch of the wall.

From the previous photo we can determine a view from the terrace is centered on the opposite wing of the home throughout the pool.

With the square opening in the wall, which contrasts with a roof expansion for shade, views of the horizon are reinforced. I also like how the tree trunk is observable in the opening.

Wheeler Kearns Architects

This last example demonstrates that even a doorway can serve to frame the landscape. To the side of the garage door is a large pivoting door that provides access to the home’s courtyard.

Wheeler Kearns Architects

When the large door is open, it helps frame a view of the trees throughout the street. The doorway is parallel to the adjoining wall, so this direction is reinforced. But since it’s a doorway, the owners could just as easily close it for privacy and for focused views of the foreground trees and sky.

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