This site is in a traditional single-family neighborhood with large mature trees in front and a busy thoroughfare in the rear. These opportunities and limitations became the genesis of the design of the house.



The plan of the house is a U-shape that turns its back toward the noisy thoroughfare and opens to a courtyard that is shaded by the existing canopy of trees. The mass of the house shields and protects the courtyard from traffic noise beyond. The courtyard is the soul of the house with most of the rooms on the ground level opening directly onto it.