Architecture
Modern Architecture
Innovative Screens Add Architectural Wonder on 3 Modern Homes
Aiding privacy and filtering sunlight may have been important, but these screens offer dazzling visuals as part of the package
Previously I've looked at louvers and wood slats as devices for controlling sunlight and adding texture to an exterior. Screens can also be a strong formal gesture, giving a house an aspect of beauty while also filtering sunlight. The three examples collected here are as different from one another as they can be, but each one exploits the potential of screens positioned in front of other walls, primarily glass. One is in Los Angeles, one is in Seattle, and one is on New York's Long Island. Each one is beautiful in its own right.
This view looks from the kitchen toward the in-laws' apartment across the courtyard; the latter is also covered in perforated metal that's folded like origami. The metal screen's use as a filter for natural light comes across clearly in this photo, as does the intimacy of the yard.
The perforated screen bows out on the house facade to cover a second-floor terrace at the master bedroom. An opening cut into the screen allows views from the house to the in-laws' apartment; everyone can communicate across the yard through the apertures.
This last view shows the one-room apartment above the garage. A sliding glass wall extends the interior to the large terrace and its opening facing the house. It's a jewel-like exterior that helps to define a unique outdoor space between the two buildings.
Seattle
This house in Washington state is made of wood instead of metal, is orthogonal instead of folded and is new construction instead of a renovation. Vandeventer + Carlander Architects divided it into three elements: two volumes (one big, one small) containing the different spaces and a cantilevered wood screen. The last, of concern here, is lifted above the ground, allowing access to the house from the west.
This house in Washington state is made of wood instead of metal, is orthogonal instead of folded and is new construction instead of a renovation. Vandeventer + Carlander Architects divided it into three elements: two volumes (one big, one small) containing the different spaces and a cantilevered wood screen. The last, of concern here, is lifted above the ground, allowing access to the house from the west.
This view is looking in the opposite direction from the previous photo; here we see toward the street from the house. This view shows how the spacing of the horizontal wood members varies: It's tighter above the windows to provide shade but looser in front of them to allow views and entry of low winter sunlight.
The screen extends along the south past the smaller second volume and into the backyard, once again turning the corner. In this photo we can see the shadows cast upon the exterior wall by the wood slats. It also illustrates the privacy that the screen affords from certain angles.
To cantilever the cedar screen off the exterior wall, some substantial structure was required. The architects use galvanized members that are orthogonal, minus some diagonal bracing for lateral support. Additional shading is visible at the top of the cavity.
The clients desired a roof terrace, and the architects capped it by a wood trellis that is aesthetically in line with the wood screen covering the south facade. As seen in the previous photo, in parts the two actually meet, when the screen turns to become the trellis. These wood pieces work together to unify the project and give it a fine bit of detail on the exterior.
Long Island, New York
This last example has a much smaller screen than the first two projects, but it makes up in design for what it lacks in coverage area. Of course, the first question looking at the house, designed by aamodt / plumb architects, may be, "What screen?" Well, it is adjacent to the door at left, parallel to our view here.
This last example has a much smaller screen than the first two projects, but it makes up in design for what it lacks in coverage area. Of course, the first question looking at the house, designed by aamodt / plumb architects, may be, "What screen?" Well, it is adjacent to the door at left, parallel to our view here.
The house is blessed with water views on two sides, the north and the south. This means that the east and west sides face the neighbors, so the architects used screens to provide privacy for the glass walls.
This is a close-up of the screen near the entryway in the previous photo. The floral-like pattern gives a bit of art nouveau flourish to a very modern residence.
This is a close-up of the screen near the entryway in the previous photo. The floral-like pattern gives a bit of art nouveau flourish to a very modern residence.
The floral patterns saturate the entry space when the sun is in the east. Wallpaper certainly isn't needed.
The most dramatic effect is surely created when the sunlight hits the screens, painting floral patterns in light on the wood surfaces.
The house's floor plan is basically a square with a narrow rectangular light well cut into the center. Some of the screens cover the ends of the light well, allowing the dappled light to refract through the glass walls and, in this view, the stair's glass guardrails.
Here is a view looking into the light well from in front of a screen. Reflections off the glass combine with the patterns through the screen to make this a hard-to-understand photograph. Suffice it to say that the screens provide lots of interest on the inside. With their location on the east and west facades, the screens act like a sundial, tracking the sun as it rises and sets.
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A screen can serve as a new wrapper in front of something old. Such is the case with Daly Genik's transformation of a house and garage/studio in California into a home for a young couple, with accommodations for their in-laws. The architects added to the house on the courtyard side (seen here) and wrapped the facade in perforated metal panels.