Garden Archives

A private roof terrace enclosed by greenery features in Hidden Garden House, a Sydney home reconfigured by Australian studio Sam Crawford Architects.

Situated within a conservation zone, the home has been updated by Sam Crawford Architects to brighten its dark interior and transform it into an urban “sanctuary”.

Alterations to the 198-square-metre home’s interior are first seen in its entrance, where a stair with open treads and a white-steel balustrade replaces a solid timber structure that previously restricted light from a skylight above.

Down from the entry hall is a spacious ground-floor kitchen and dining area, which is illuminated by 4.5-metre-high glass openings that lead out to a landscaped patio. The patio is paved with limestone tiles that extend out from the interior.

Renovated kitchen and dining area in Sydney home by Sam Crawford Architects — A curved concrete roof features in the kitchen

“By extending the ground floor finishes through the full-width doors into the rear yard, the garden and high-level green trellises at the rear of the site form the fourth wall to the rear wing,” studio director Sam Crawford told Dezeen.

“They create a sense of enclosure that draws the occupant’s eye up to the expanse of the sky rather than surrounding suburbia.”

Bathroom interior at Hidden Garden House in Australia — Angled timber screens and greenery ensure privacy for the bathroom

A concrete ceiling in Hidden Garden House’s kitchen curves upwards to help draw in the winter sun and provide summer shading, while operable clerestory windows allow natural ventilation.

Above, this curved ceiling forms a sloped roof terrace filled with plants, which is situated off the main bedroom on the upper floor.

An ensuite bathroom, also lined with limestone floor tiles, has expansive openings offering a scenic yet private bathing experience enabled by angled timber screens and the terrace’s greenery.

“The rolling green roof serves as a visual barrier to the surrounding suburb, whilst allowing the occupants to occupy their private garden oasis,” added Crawford.

Living space interior of Hidden Garden House in Sydney — White walls and wooden furniture feature throughout the interior

Hidden Garden House’s consistent material palette of bright white walls and wooden furniture ties its living spaces together, while decorative square tiles line both the kitchen and bathrooms.

Curved details, such as the patio’s shape and the kitchen island and splashback, also feature throughout.

Terrace of Hidden Garden House in Sydney designed by Sam Crawford Architects — The home aims to be an urban “sanctuary”

Other alterations that were made to improve Hidden Garden House’s layout include the relocation of entrances to the ground floor laundry room and bathroom.

Elsewhere, Sam Crawford Architects has also created a restaurant topped with an oversized steel roof and a bridge modelled on the curving shape of eels.

The photography is by Tom Ferguson.

Project credits:

Architect: Sam Crawford Architects
Builder: Toki
Structural engineer: Cantilever Engineers
Civil & hydraulic engineer: Partridge
Acoustic engineer: Acoustic Logic
Heritage consultant: Damian O’Toole Town Planning
Quantity Surveyor: QS Plus
Landscape design: Gabrielle Pelletier, SCA
Roof garden supplier: Fytogreen Australia

Reference

Interior Design

Familien Kvistad designs colourful Yellow House in the Apple Garden

By Zarkon Group,14/11/2023

Vibrantly coloured tiles and textiles feature in this house renovation in Oslo, Norway, designed by locally based duo Familien Kvistad.

The Yellow House in the Apple Garden is a 1950s house in Oslo’s Voldsløkka area, home to a family of four and their cat, “the rambunctious Caspian”.

Familien Kvistad founders, married couple Astrid and Ziemowit Kvistad, have completely remodelled the interior using a palette that also includes solid ash joinery and lightly speckled terrazzo surfaces.

“When they bought the house, the family envisioned painting some walls, moving the kitchen and building two new bathrooms,” the pair told Dezeen. “Over time, things naturally escalated, resulting in a complete change of layout, roof windows, new insulation, siding… absolutely everything was replaced.”

Kitchen with ask cabinets and yellow tile splashback and cat — The kitchen features solid ash cabinets

The three-storey house has an enviable setting in a large garden filled with fruit trees. It was this that primarily attracted the owners, rather than the building itself.

“The house was relatively old, not architecturally distinctive and outdated inside on all levels,” said the designers.

Yellow House in the Apple Garden by Familien Kvistad — The house was originally built in the 1950s

However, shortly after they bought the property, the council enforced new conservation zone restrictions that made it impossible to alter the building’s exterior in any way.

The task for Astrid and Ziemowit was to modernise the house without changing or extending its structure.

“This is obviously a costly project; it would have been cheaper to build a new house,” they explained.

“However, the outer structure had to remain.”

Conservatory in Yellow House in the Apple Garden — A terrazzo floor and ochre sofa are installed in the conservatory

The renovation removed many of the old internal partitions, creating a more open layout. This gives the ground floor a broken-plan feel, made up of various separate but connected living and dining spaces.

The old loft was also removed and replaced with small mezzanines, revealing the sloping roof beams and increasing the ceiling height in the first-floor bedrooms and bathroom to up to four metres.

Entrance lobby by Familien Kvistad — Wooden ceiling joists are exposed throughout

The colour scheme was based on “earthy shades” of the owners’ favourite colours.

On the ground floor, this resulted in a feature fireplace clad in mustard-yellow Kaufmann tiles, a lounge sofa upholstered in a plum-coloured Kvadrat textile and a storage bench topped by forest-green cushions.

Lounge in Yellow House in the Apple Garden — A storage bench topped with green cushions lines the main living space

An abundance of wood brings balance to this bold palette, with Douglas fir flooring from Dinesen and solid ash kitchen cabinets matching the exposed ceiling joists.

This level also includes a sunken conservatory featuring large plants, a terrazzo floor, an ochre-toned sofa and electric-blue cushions. On the wall, an expressive painting displays similar colours.

Bedroom with wall carpets by Familien Kvistad — Custom-designed wall carpets adorn the primary bedroom

“During the renovation, the family sold most of what they already owned,” said Astrid and Ziemowit. “This meant that all the furniture was purchased new.”

“However, they did have some art from before,” they added. “Much to our delight, they fit perfectly into both the colour palette and the style.”

Staircase doubles as a shelving unit — In one of the children’s rooms, a staircase doubles as a shelving unit

Upstairs, the primary bedroom features a pair of tufted wall carpets designed and made by Familien Kvistad, depicting abstract landscapes.

One of the two children’s bedrooms features a playful storage unit that doubles as a staircase, while the other has a ladder to provide access to the mezzanine loft above.

Bathroom with green tiles and terrazzo bath and basin — The family bathroom combines green tones with terrazzo

The bathroom has a more mellow character, combining terrazzo sanitaryware with calming green tones. The basement floor mainly serves as a utility area, although it does include an extra bathroom and a living room that doubles as a guest bedroom.

Other recently completed homes in Norway include a “house of offcuts” by Kolman Boye Architects and a villa on piloti by Saunders Architecture.

The photography is by Magnus Berger Nordstrand.

Reference

Architecture

Ludwig Godefroy prioritises garden for “timeless” family home in Mexico

By Zarkon Group,12/09/2023

Mexico-based architect Ludwig Godefroy has completed the renovation of a”simple” house and studio in Mexico for himself and his family that is integrated with an adjacent garden.

Godefroy and his partner renovated a former residence, focusing on the home’s orientation towards the site’s pre-existing greenspace.

“Casa SanJe is a very simple project,” said Godefroy. “The main idea behind the project was to reconnect the house with its garden, opening large windows everywhere on the ground floor. In and out are always connected in this house.”

Almost half of the square site is dedicated to the garden, while the other half contains the architect’s residence.

The entrance to a house with a gate door — It is organized around the site’s substantial garden

“Casa SanJe was an ordinary Mexican house from the ’80s, without any style, a simple house with tiles on the floor and texturized plaster finishing on the walls,” said Godefroy.

The architect replaced the former materials with concrete, wood and tezontle – a red volcanic stone – to “calm down the atmosphere of the house”.

A large wrought iron door — Godefroy renovated a house originally built in the 80s

The ground level of the home contains two entrances protected by iron doors.

A car park sits adjacent to the building’s first entrance, which is accessed through a patio populated with stone, planting beds and a concrete and brick sculpture.

A rectangular cut out in a wall — The ground floor contains large windows and doors that open directly into the garden

A second entrance is located further into the garden and leads to a vestibule space at the centre of the ground-level plan.

The interior program circulates around the vestibule, with the kitchen, dining area and living room located opposite the architect’s studio and library.

The entrance to a home with a mirror and sculptural elements — It is made of concrete with wood and stone elements

The kitchen and studio spaces were pushed along the back wall of the house, with slim windows placed periodically among cabinets and shelves.

On the side opposite, Godefroy installed large doors and windows that open the living room directly into the garden.

A dining table made of concrete — Furniture like a dining table and shelving was also made of concrete

Much of the interior furniture was made of caste concrete, like the living room sofa, the dining table, side tables, kitchen shelving and an island. And some are built directly into the floor.

Godefroy’s studio also contains concrete shelving and a concrete desk that runs along the wall.

A living room with a wall of exposed stone and a concrete couch — A wall clad in volcanic stone rungs along the back of the house

In the same space, a wall was clad in warm wood panels, while a vaulted ceiling sits above the architect’s desk. A chimney sits adjacent.

Like some of Godefroy’s previous projects, geometric openings were cut into interior walls.

An exposed wall made of red volcanic stone runs along the back wall of the house.

Located between the kitchen and living room, a wooden staircase leads to the second floor, which contains bedrooms and a primary bath.

Casa SanJe by Ludwig Godefroy — The architect’s studio opens onto the entrance patio

The primary bath contains a sunken, circular cutout in the floor, with multiple shower heads for bathing.

In one corner, a spigot drops water onto a stepped feature.

A bathroom with a circular cut out in the floor — An upstairs bathroom features a circular, sunken floor

Concrete was used for the ceiling, walls and floor.

Native plants were placed throughout the house, with a large semi-circle planter made of concrete placed above the house’s entrance.

“We wanted the space to become timeless, out of any trend or decoration, just made out of simple material, able to get old instead of getting damaged under the action of time,” said the architect.

Godefroy recently completed a number of projects in and around Mexico City, including a brutalist cube-shaped home and a hotel that recalls the design of an Oaxacan temple.

The photography is by Edmund Sumner.

Reference

Garden room for Horatio's Garden by Mcmullan Studio

Architecture

Mcmullan Studio designs garden room as “restorative haven”

By Zarkon Group,13/08/2023

Wooden shingles clad this pod-like garden room by London practice Mcmullan Studio, which has been created for spinal-injury charity Horatio’s Garden.

The small space was conceived by Mcmullan Studio as a “beautiful, immersive, restorative haven” for patients with spinal injuries at a hospital in Sheffield.

It has large openings and a central circular skylight to create a close connection to the outdoors, informed by the Japanese concept of forest bathing.

“Our design addresses the issue of monotony and lack of stimulation experienced by patients who are confined to staring at hospital ward ceilings, particularly those who cannot move or lift their heads due to spinal injuries,” director Andrew Mcmullan told Dezeen.

“We all know how good being in nature can make us feel,” he added. “We have known it for centuries. The sounds of the forest, the scent of the trees, the sunlight playing through the leaves, the fresh, clean air — these things give us a sense of comfort.”

The wooden pavilion was originally created for Horatio’s Garden‘s exhibit at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show in London, for which Mcmullan Studio worked with landscape designers Harris Bugg Studio.

Wooden shingles — It is clad in wooden shingles

The pavilion is now being transported to the Princess Spinal Injuries Centre in Sheffield as a permanent space for the charity, due to open in 2024.

The garden room’s skylight sits at the centre of a reciprocal roof – a twisting circle of interlocking beams that requires no central support, allowing the interior to be as open and unobstructed as possible.

“Apart from the technical aspects, the reciprocal frame also has intrinsic beauty. The nest-like character of this structure creates a visually intriguing and comforting atmosphere,” described Mcmullan.

“The structure frames a glazed rooflight that invites daylight into the space while providing ever-changing views of the overhanging tree canopies,” he added.

Reciprocal roof inside Horatio's Garden pod — It has a reciprocal roof

Wooden finishes have been used inside and out, with space for seating and a bed beneath the central skylight and a pattern of circular ceramics mounted on the walls.

Ease of transportation was central to the structure’s design, allowing it to be easily lifted as a single unit for its transportation from London to Sheffield.

Exterior of Garden room for Horatio's Garden by Mcmullan Studio at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show — It was on show at the 2023 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Photo by Jim Stephenson

Once in place, it will be accompanied by two additional garden rooms and a larger communal garden building, all of which will also be designed by Mcmullan Studio.

Other garden rooms featured on Dezeen include an artichoke-shaped workspace by Studio Ben Allen and a writer’s shed by WT Architecture.

The photography is by Lucy Shergold unless stated otherwise.

Reference

Sustainable News

A connected vegetable garden for growing food at home

By Zarkon Group,27/03/2023

Spotted: With food price inflation remaining at historically high levels, many consumers are seeking savings wherever they can find them. While the isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic has largely eased, some of the habits acquired during that time, such as grow-your-own herbs and veg, remain strong. To help new growers access the advantages of home-grown, organic produce, French company Urban Cuisine designed a stylish indoor hydroponic garden container that makes it fun and easy to cultivate fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

Named Liv, the connected garden comes with an app and the choice of over 17 different plants. The app guides growers through the set-up and planting process, provides regular advice on the growth of each variety, and includes an FAQ section and connections to Urban Cuisine’s horticulturalists for urgent queries. The garden’s sleek design fits a self-contained water tank, a micro-climate, ventilation controlled by integrated sensors, and a low-power LED light panel.

When setting up a garden, growers choose Grow Pods based on how long they want to wait for a harvest and what they want to use the produce for. Each organic Grow Pod contains the essential substrate and nutrients for the seeds to grow. Liv is available as the garden alone, as a subscription of monthly deliveries of Grow Pods, or as a garden and subscription together.

Other ways that Springwise has spotted innovators improving local food systems include an automated indoor herb garden and a no-smell countertop compost system.

Written By: Keely Khoury

Reference

Charred timber facade of Dark Matter garden studio by Hyper

Architecture

Dark Matter garden studio by Hyperspace features pivoting door

By Zarkon Group,30/01/2023

London-based architecture studio Hyperspace has created a garden studio in Hertfordshire, England, featuring a pivoting door and a charred-timber facade that doubles as an insect hotel.

Hyperspace converted a suburban garage to create the work-from-home studio called Dark Matter.

The building’s name refers to its facade, formed of 850 pieces of charred wood. The process, called Shou Sugi Ban, prolongs the life of the wood by making it more resistant to moisture.

Gaps were left in between these wooden shingles to provide natural habitats for insects, with the aim of promoting biodiversity in the garden.

They act “as a giant bug hotel for insects to hibernate in”, according to Hyperspace founder Olli Andrew.

Andrew designed the studio to provide the client, design recruitment consultant Wayne Euston-Moore, with a spacious and tranquil workspace.

Entrance to Dark Matter garden studio by Hyper — An extra-wide pivoting door forms the entrance

The ambition from the outset was to go beyond the simple, glass-fronted box that forms most garden studios.

The pivoting door follows this approach. Located on an angular cutaway at the building’s corner, this double-width element create a sense of drama from arrival.

The building also features two “light chimneys” dotted with perforations.

Extending down from skylights in the roof, they create dynamic light reflections intended to mimic dappled sunlight through a tree canopy.

“Outdoor garden studios don’t need to be generic boxes,” said Andrew.

“This project’s beauty is in the craft, space and light. And with its connection to nature, it’s an inspired place to work.”

Light chimney and desk in Dark Matter garden studio by Hyper — Plywood panels line the interior walls

The design reuses almost all of the materials from the original garage structure, including the timber beams from the dismantled hip roof. Anything leftover was diverted to another Hyperspace project, to keep waste to a minimum.

A corrugated metal roof was supported on white oiled timber rafters, while the interior walls are now lined with poplar plywood panels.

Charred timber shingles clad the exterior walls

To improve the building’s energy performance, Andrew chose triple-glazed windows and skylights while he added insulation formed of wood fibre, wool and recyclable foil-based blankets.

“To reduce embodied carbon, the majority of materials were procured from within a 10-mile radius,” said Andrew.

“Steel and concrete use was kept to a minimum, with only one steel flitch plate and less than one square metre of concrete.”

Dark Matter garden studio by Hyper — Windows have deep sills, so can double as informal seats

The studio is minimally furnished, helping to enhance the sense of space. A simple table in the corner offers a view out through windows facing both north and east.

These windows both feature deep sills and minimal overhanging canopies, giving the studio’s occupant an alternative to place to sit and work.

Night view of Dark Matter garden studio by Hyper — The facade provides nesting space for insects

“It provides an amazing headspace which is inspiring yet calm,” Euston-Moore said. “It feels like you’re in a perfectly insulated space yet connected to the outside with ample natural light.”

Other recent garden studio designs include Michael Dillon’s low-cost architecture studio in Kent and a writer’s hut in Dublin designed by Clancy Moore Architects.

The photography and film are by Simon Kennedy.

Reference

Architecture

Z’scape adds grassy amphitheatre and wild garden to hotel in rural China

By Zarkon Group,26/09/2022

A winding wooden path leads to a natural amphitheatre created by rippling mounds of grass at this garden in Lijiang, China, which was designed by landscape studio Z’scape and has been shortlisted for the Dezeen Awards 2022.

Located at the Linjiang Hilla Vintage Hotel complex, the Wilderness Garden and Amphitheatre extends an existing landscape designed by the Beijing-based practice last year.

The new additions have been shortlisted in the landscape project category of Dezeen Awards 2022.

For the new area of wild grassland, Z’scape worked with a botanist and local villages to find native plant varieties that would naturally thrive without needing any maintenance or irrigation, introducing greater biodiversity to the site.

Amphitheatre and wild garden in China by Z'scape — A raised boardwalk allows animals and insects to move freely around the landscape

A wooden boardwalk, raised 60 centimetres to allow animals and insects to move underneath, cuts through this wild garden, with an elevated platform providing a lookout.

Areas of open grass, large rocks and two small wildlife ponds are interspersed throughout the garden and were also designed to help minimise the risk of wildfires spreading.

Benches in grassy amphitheatre by Z'scape in China — The amphitheatre is formed by mounds of grass in a sunken region of the site

“Providing a critical habitat that offers rich nutritional value and shelter, Wilderness Garden is a haven for wildlife,” said the practice.

“To strike a compelling dialogue, a zigzag boardwalk weaves its way through the grassland to give visitors an extraordinary experience with dramatic and intimate overlooks,” it continued.

The wooden boardwalk leads to the new amphitheatre at the north of the site, making use of an existing sunken area in the landscape’s topography and defining it with concentric ridges that overlook a central performance lawn.

Recycled timber has been used to create simple benches that follow the contours of the amphitheatre’s ridges and are dotted with works by local sculptors.

As well as a space to watch performances, the amphitheatre looks out across a dramatic landscape, including the UNESCO heritage site of Baisha and Jade Dragon Snow Mountain.

Amphitheatre by Z'scape in Chinese landscape with views of mountains — Long benches in the amphitheatre offer spaces for children to play

“Natural play opportunities are embedded in the landform, where children can run, climb, jump, dance or roll,” said the practice.

“A series of long benches offer historic views to the snow mountain and the best views of the central performance lawn,” it continued.

Aerial view of amphitheatre by Z'scape with curved benches covered with snow — Long recycled timber benches wrap around the circular feature

The original landscape design incorporated the remains of an abandoned village built by the Naxi people, and every year a traditional torch festival creates an “immersive and interactive environment” for celebrating Naxi culture and craft.

Z’scape was founded by Zhou Liangjun and Zhou Ting, and has a particular focus on landscaping projects for cultural tourism projects, boutique hotels, urban spaces and residential developments.

Other projects that join the Wilderness Garden and Amphitheatre on the landscape project shortlist of Dezeen awards 2022 include a rural farm in Iran co-designed with local communities, and Heatherwick Studio’s Little Island in Manhattan.

The photography is by Holi Landscape Photography.

Reference

Sustainable News

A rooftop garden helps keep rickshaw cool

By Zarkon Group,24/05/2022

Spotted: There are around 95,000 registered auto-rickshaws in New Delhi. The colourful vehicles tend to blend in to the landscape. But one vehicle stands out – the rickshaw owned by Mahendra Kumar. The rickshaw driver has installed a garden on the vehicle’s roof – planted with more than 20 types of plants.

Kumar is hoping that the mobile rooftop garden will help keep the interior of his vehicle cool. In fact, he came up with the idea two years ago, during the peak of the summer season. Due to global warming, temperatures in New Delhi have been rising, at times exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, and last year saw India’s highest average maximum temperatures in 122 years. Against this backdrop, any relief would be welcome.

To create his garden, Kumar first laid a thick sack onto the rickshaw roof as a base, then added soil and seeds. He simply waters the plants from a bottle a few times a day. Not only does the garden provide a natural cooling effect, but it also gives residents a nice break from New Delhi’s ubiquitous concrete.

Indian taxi drivers are not the only ones who have converted cabs to gardens. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, when tourism in Thailand had collapsed, the Ratchapruk Taxi Cooperative in Bangkok began growing vegetables on the roofs of idled taxi cabs, and farmed frogs in piles of abandoned car tyres. The vegetables and frogs helped to feed out-of-work drivers and the surplus was sold for extra income.

As the world heats up, innovative ideas like these are going to be important in mitigating the danger. Some other ideas for mitigating the heat island effect that we have seen recently include a platform that assesses urban heat island effects and designs solutions and the use of living roofs on large buildings.

Written By: Lisa Magloff

18th May 2022

Reference

Landscaping

A Rooftop Lounge And Garden Surrounded By Brick Walls Was Designed For This Home

By Zarkon Group,04/06/2021

ODDO architects have designed a contemporary home in Hanoi, Vietnam, that’s surrounded by taller buildings and includes rooftop courtyards.

Due to rapid urbanization and the lack of public spaces, the architects designed a home that includes outdoor spaces.

A contemporary home with rooftop courtyards surrounded by brick.

The lower level of the home has a white exterior, while the upper level consists of multiple brick volumes, some with overhanging plants, adding a greenery element to the space.

The roof area is covered by open gardens where the family may grow their own vegetable and fruits.

The rooftops also include space for relaxing in the busy city.

Outdoor lighting included in the design of the rooftops enables the space to be used at night. It also adds light to the neighborhood as it can pass through the walls and openings.

Outdoor lighting makes this rooftop terrace light up like a lantern.

A modern home with painted brick lower level, and textured brick upper level.

Inside the home, the interior has been kept open with glass ceilings, creating a bright living space.

A contemporary home with glass ceiling and built-in planters.

The living room opens up to the kitchen and dining area, which include custom planters built into the design of the home.

Other rooms in the house have sliding doors that open to green spaces, hiding the city beyond.

A sliding glass door opens the bedroom to green space.

Photography by Hoang Le photography | Architects: ODDO architects (Mai Lan Chi Obtulovicova, Marek Obtulovic, Nguyen Duc Trung)

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Landscaping

A Delightful Terraced Garden Sits In Front Of This Outdoor Dining Room

By Zarkon Group,04/06/2021

Andrew Mann Architecture has completed the remodel of a home in Sonoma, California, that includes a newly designed garden with tiered planters and a covered outdoor entertaining space.

A modern garden with an covered outdoor dining area and terraced built-in planters made from concrete.

The garden pavilion, which was designed by Andrew Mann Architecture, also included the hardscape and layout of the fences, as well as the surrounding planter beds.

The dining pavilion, which can be lit up at night, acts as an outdoor entertaining space that’s surrounded by peaceful gardens completed by Christa Moné.

A modern garden with terraced built-in planters made from concrete.

The raised planters, which have a simple concrete border are filled with flowering plants of different sizes.

A modern garden with terraced built-in planters.

The pavilion, which has a sloped roof, is built from dark stained wood and has a large open area dedicated to outdoor dining.

An outdoor pavilion includes dining area, a kitchen area with fridges, a pizza oven and firewood storage, as well as a separate space for storing garden items. This small room can be hidden from view by the large sliding barn doors.

The pavilion also includes a kitchen area with fridges, a pizza oven, and firewood storage, as well as a separate space for storing garden items. This small room can be hidden from view by the large sliding barn doors.

Let’s take a look around the main house…

Architect Andrew Mann and interior designer Katie McCaffrey of Angus – McCaffrey Interior Design collaborated on the partial remodel of the house, which was originally built in 1974 by Roland Miller Associates.

Andrew focused on form making, while Katie defined a material palette different in feel and mood from their client’s city house. Exposed wood beams and a wood ceiling complement the wood floors and furniture found in the open plan living room and dining area.