A garden doesn’t need to be huge. We design spaces that enjoy views of a small garden or neighbouring landscapes. It’s a technique that can make the space feel bigger – when the gaze is drawn outside, the room slowly dissolves and your world expands.
Nature is definitely spiritual for us. Kathryn’s childhood on the coast of Western Australia influences how we think about the landscape – expansive views over the Indian Ocean to Rottnest Island, watching a storm rolling in and seeing the colour of the waves and sky change. Growing up in Melbourne showed Chris the softening effect of the borrowed landscape within the city context. In our Elwood home, we relax by looking out over the canopies of neighbouring trees and watching the birds coming and going.
A courtyard garden is one way to bring pockets of landscape inside a building. It’s also a way of adding intimacy. Connecting living and dining spaces through landscaped courtyards with garden beds and planters blurs the transition – the interior becomes one with nature. You can feel the breeze and lose yourself in its beauty.
There are always ways to integrate plants, even in very narrow urban site. For Terra Firma House we designed large windows to open the interior to a neighbour’s wall and introduced a deciduous creeper that, like a kinetic piece of art, will eventually zig-zag its way up the wall, covering it with vibrant colour. It’s a very Japanese approach – a window that frames the view of a manicured landscape gives you a sense of perspective and distance and allow you to mark the seasons.
Even when we are designing houses with large gardens, we curate the views. We create highlight windows and roof forms that overlap, so you can see all the way up to the treetops. Intimate pockets of nature are strategically framed through smaller glimpses that draw you through the interior. These are juxtaposed with floor-to-ceiling glass that captures the full expanse of the surrounding view.
Our deep appreciation for the landscape means we are always searching for that delicate balance between expansiveness and intimacy, and the calming connection between the two.