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Entrance Canopies: The New Porch
Creative Overhangs Offer Sheltered Passage to the Front Door
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City. I have Bachelor of Architecture and Master in Urban Planning degrees, and over ten years experience in architectural practice, split between Chicago and NYC. Currently I'm focused on writing and online pursuits. My daily blog can be found at http://archidose.blogspot.com
Houzz Contributor. I am an architect and writer living in New York City.... More »
In traditional residential architecture in the United States, the transition between outside and inside happens via the porch. It provides shelter from the elements, a place to sit down, and a subtle indication that what lies beyond is somebody's private domain. But in modern and contemporary residences, the addition of a porch would be anachronistic, so other means are used to provide shelter and create that important transition. The photos that follow highlight entrance canopies, overhead elements that can receive myriad treatments.
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| This modern house uses a grand canopy — a roof extension actually — long enough to be supported at the corner by a column. Given the size of the space and overhang, it's easy to imagine sitting underneath even in inclement weather. |
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This bright white modern house actually features two canopies that lead people along a route and mark the transition between public and private. The first is a long and solid canopy that extends from the garden wall. The second ...
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... is a wood canopy perpendicular to the first that moves people towards the doorway into the house. The differentiation between the two canopies is important, and well done: The first one is formal, but the one inside the wall incorporates a natural material to work alongside the landscaped garden.
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Similar to the previous canopy that moves people on a path alongside a wall towards the entry, this one is adjacent to a planted garden but it also is semi-open to admit daylight. The design of the overhead plane (photovoltaics?) echoes the well-detailed wall to the right, making it all very cohesive.
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| The canopy in the left-center of this photo is on the outside of a wall that separates the driveway and the street. This treatment makes it a very formal addition to the house, so visitors take a certain route, instead of a stroll up the driveway. A closer look ... |
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... shows the entry door perpendicular to the wall, preserving the character of the wall as a boundary between public and private; movement is not through the wall. The combination of stone, wood and landscaping is quite rich, each with a particular scale and texture.
| Similar to the previous house is this entry tucked into a corner of a gravel court. The simplicity of the whole assemblage (walls, court, entry, canopy) is quite Zen-like, but it's also very mysterious. What lies beyond that door and those walls? |
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How canopies are structured is often hidden, such as behind thick edges, but some architects opt to express how an overhead plane defies gravity. The glass canopy over the entrance to this house is small and slender in section, so the architect hung it from the wall.
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Canopies can also give the impression of being part of the facade. This wood-slat canopy seems to lift up from the wood-slats on the wall. Here the canopy indicates where the entry is in the minimal composition, rather than protecting people from the elements.
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Of course, why not go one step further and make a door function as a canopy when open? That's what's happening in this tea house. This technique may not work for houses proper, but here the double-function makes a lot of sense.
by CWB Architects
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Here is an example where a canopy is not a unique element added to the house, but an extension of the roof made deeper by cutting the entry into the house in plan. Combined with the steps, fence, and corner column, this design quietly indicates the location of the entry.
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| Why limit a canopy to the entrance when it can also function as a carport (correction: porte-cochere)? This large country-club-like canopy cantilevers way out towards the driveway, connecting the car directly to the entrance. |
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Last, what about idiosyncratic ways of making an entry canopy or porch with a neotraditional palette? This large porch is capped by an oversized gable-end cover that reaches towards the walkway and is supported by columns. It seems to make sense perched upon its hill, as the large porch gives the house a stronger, almost Classical presence.
More:
Save a Tree: Build Your Deck Around It
Bathe in the Light of Clerestory Windows
Modern and Contemporary: What's the Difference?
More:
Save a Tree: Build Your Deck Around It
Bathe in the Light of Clerestory Windows
Modern and Contemporary: What's the Difference?
Ideabook updated on June 1, 2011.
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...but the 12th pic, as lovely as it is, isn't a carport or a porch - it's a Porte-cochère.