Courtyard

Wani is located in the northern part of Otsu City, which is between Lake Biwa and Hira Mountains. It is a suburban residential area where people live leisurely, with the JR Kosei Line running north and south, giving good access to Kyoto and Osaka. We designed a small house on a hill in Wani. The owner is a dog lover who likes outdoor activities and whose hobby is swimming with his dogs in Lake Biwa on the weekends. The owner's request was to live with his pets and fully enjoy the scenery and atmosphere unique to Wani. We chose a one-story building with a courtyard so that he could stay outdoors while preserving privacy from the surrounding houses. However, even if it is a courtyard style, the view to Lake Biwa will be lost if it is surroun... More

“Double Side”-Shimigiah Residential Apartment was a building with no residents for years. At first, the new owner had decided to make some minor alterations in terms of improving the building’s elevations; but under the discussion between our team and the client, we could convince him to renovate all the interior and outdoor spaces.  The northern and southern access to the apartment was completely different. Considering the variety of effective factors on the elevations and also the inconsistency of two facades, each side is determined to have a unique but consistent design Regardless of all differences, some specific elements, materials and a unique color were shared on both sides, in order to provide single charac... More

The legero united campus near Graz consists of two differently sized rings. Generous glazing, the facade of bronze-coloured anodised aluminium that changes in sunlight and the lushly planted inner courtyards blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The larger office ring can be topped up by an additional floor at any time. This meets the customer’s desire for a ‘growing’ corporate headquarter that can be extended in stages without producing a temporary measure. The result is a campus, a place with identity and great charisma, a dynamic and yet harmonious composition, at any time and in all stages of construction. The innovative campus translates the corporate philosophy of development and community into an overall a... More

These homeowners planned for almost every outdoor surface to be heated with a snow melting system. From their driveway to their courtyard, every paver is installed over a radiant heating system design to melt snow all year-long. Learn more about this project in our Showcase More

These four garden courtyard houses embody the feel of south Austin’s eclectic and casual lifestyle. Taking cues from the local neighborhood, the 2-story primary units facing the street are styled in a traditional vernacular form while the rear 1-story accessory dwelling units (ADU’s) take on a low-slung mid-century modern form. Solid (insulated) stack-bonded architectural grade CMU (concrete masonry unit) walls define the ADU’s (accessory dwelling unit) exterior walls which carry through to the interior. Heavy mass gabion walls create privacy and natural garden planter walls. More

Located on the Lower Campus of the recently established University of Mpumalanga, LHA+UD’s new student residence and dining facility defines the southern boundary of the university. Initially appointed in 2011 by the Department of Higher Education to establish the Design and Development framework for the relatively new university, LHA+UD were subsequently appointed in 2016 to design a new student residence and dining hall for the increasing number of students registered at the university.  The building provides accommodation for 200+ students in a mix of single and shared rooms along with self-contained bachelor units, in tandem with the 700 seater dining hall. The guiding principle was to create a building focused arou... More

This project encapsulated stage 1 of a complete office facility upgrade and overhaul. We established a new lunchroom and amenities block for the office complex whilst providing services enabling subsequent staged upgrading to occur to surrounding facilities. By closing off the existing open end of a “U” shaped group of buildings, a landscaped courtyard was created linking existing offices. An opportunity has been taken to create a circulation core at the southern connection point, which allows disabled access both internally and externally to another building via a new lift. The courtyard created by the new insertion forms an extension of the dining area and together with the lunchroom, serving approximately 400 staff, forms... More

This house is built in a privileged location, within Funchal’s amphitheatre, a renovation of a small pre-existing stone house that was kept untouched except for an external thermal insulation. Two new elements were added: an annex and a pitched roof, replacing but keeping the footprint of unruly previously built add-on constructions.   A light steel frame construction system was used in the new bodies which facilitated their assembly. Predominately natural materials were used for their inherent quality and environmental awareness by reducing toxic waste on site and the use of plastics and resins. For a seamless thermal and energy efficiency, thermal insulation was used beneath the wood cladding and double glazed aluminium windo... More

This Modern Arabic Villa Architectural Design in Taif, Saudi Arabia, is both classic and iconic. Its white-hued cube-shaped structure has been deliberately designed to complement the urban fabric of its surroundings. But the traditional aspects have been retained through the use of horseshoe-shaped arches and light fixtures. This single design element propels the Islamic-style aesthetic but has been modernized by the black filigree and intricate geometric patterns that run on the boundary wall. More

A new ground-up building in the center of Downtown Culver City engages the creative energy and collaborative spirit of its cutting-edge inhabitants by providing two distinct office environments – The Brick and The Machine.The Brick features a dynamic shift between large, building-scale window openings and a finely textured, human-scale materiality. The exterior façade aims to compliment the many historic landmarks in the area that are largely made up of traditional brick.The Machine features an operable, experiential facade that allows inhabitants to take full advantage of Southern California’s consistent and temperate climate. The ever-changing nature of the exterior screens represents constant progress and shifting ideas while offering pr... More

Affordable and sustainable, this Vacation Compound Design in Khamis Mushait, Saudi Arabia, is a modern chalet designed on a plateau with lush vegetation. It consists of two-story homes that can be rented out by tourists and visitors. The layout of these homes leaves the private areas (three bedrooms) on the first floor, while the public spaces are on the ground. The openings are kept minimal to keep the interior cool, while the outdoor spaces (like sitting and playing areas) provide socializing opportunities. More

​PDP London’s mixed-use scheme for Prince of Wales Yard within the grounds of Christopher Wren’s Royal Hospital Chelsea, home of the Chelsea Pensioners, was completed in 2016. The project includes the refurbishment and fit-out of the 19th-century Laundry, and two other adjacent structures to provide new offices for the Royal Hospital administration, workshops and welfare facilities for Hospital maintenance staff, and hobby rooms for the In-Pensioners. Alongside the existing buildings, a new-build activities hall accommodates a wide range of In-Pensioner activities, including band practice, dances, and film nights.  The site was previously a dead end, and the courtyard was unkempt and covered in tarmac. By creating a throu... More

Currently the internal courtyard is strongly compromised by the presence of underground and above ground parking lots. The signs of surface parking are evident, the volumes for access to the garages, the access ramp to the basement and the emergency exits. The project tends to redefine the present activities, without changing them in their functional use through targeted micro interventions. A new decorative flooring that creates and defines the spaces of open-air cars, the mitigation of accesses and exits to garages by carterisation of the volumes present, the use of the resulting areas (currently without any function), at the service of the condominium. To complete the proposal, the green on the pot, the lighting design, the communicatio... More