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    Eight homes kept cool and bright by central courtyards

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    In this lookbook, we’ve collected eight homes from Vietnam to the USA that are kept ventilated and illuminated by central courtyards.

    Courtyards have been used in ancient and contemporary architecture as a tool to trap and funnel breezes and natural light into the core of a building.
    Most often, they are completely open to the elements and can extend upwards through multiple levels of a building, with some surrounded by balconies, loggias, or walkways.
    Vegetation and water features placed at the centre of courtyards also help to cool the surrounding air, while seating or lounge areas provide a place to take it all in.

    One or more courtyards were dispersed along the footprints of the eight homes below, for interiors that are relaxing, open and bright.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring tranquil interiors with oversized windows, enclosed staircases and metallic furnishings.
    Photo is by Hoang LeHouse for Young Families, Vietnam, H-H Studio
    Designed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, this house in Vietnam features green spaces throughout its entirety so its owners could be connected to nature while working remotely.
    Its interior was organised around three courtyard gardens that were dispersed along a linear plan, while the structure extends upwards around them in a series of stacked white volumes.
    Find out more about House for Young Families ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerQuarry House, Australia, Winwood McKenzie
    Australian studio Winwood McKenzie renovated the Quarry House by inserting a garden and internal courtyard through its narrow site, which split the residence into three distinct portions.
    The house’s newly built living, dining and kitchen border the courtyard on one side, while a multi-purpose room and study sits across the way.
    Find out more about Quarry House ›
    Photo is by César BéjarCasa Ederlezi, Mexico, Práctica Arquitectura
    Práctica Arquitectura divided this narrow concrete infill house in Mexico into two distinct portions centred around a courtyard.
    Hallways and staircases were oriented around the perimeter of the double-height space in plan and a living space and second floor bedrooms were placed on either side.
    Find out more about Casa Ederlezi ›
    Photo is by Matthew MillmanSanta Monica Modern, USA, Walker Warner Architects
    This L-shaped home in California encloses a spacious courtyard that features multiple seating areas, a ping-pong table, plantings and a concrete fire pit.
    Walker Warner Architects designed the courtyard to be suitable for entertaining, as well as to take advantage of the southern California climate.
    Find out more about Santa Monica Modern ›
    Photo is by Francisco NogueiraPortugal house, Portugal, Bak Gordon Arquitectos 
    Bak Gordon Aquitectos split this Portgual home into two portions by inserting a courtyard at its centre and populated the area with an interior garden, which is surrounded by windows and openings.
    “The small functional patio allows for natural light and cross ventilation as well as a permanent natural garden presence,” said Bak Gordon Arquitectos architect Nuno Tavares da Costa.
    Find out more about Portugal house ›
    Photo is by Javier Agustín Rojas.Casa Vedia, Argentina, BHY Arquitectos
    Two courtyards were inserted into the corners of Casa Vedia in Argentina, which the studio explained were employed to optimise interior spaces.
    Each courtyard is double-height, with plantings tucked along its perimeter. Additionally, two terraces were placed on top of the structure’s roof that sits in between them.
    Find out more about Casa Vedia ›
    Photo is by Rory GardinerCasa VO and Casa WO, Mexico, Ludwig Godefroy 
    Located in Puerto Escondido, Casa VO and Casa Wo are a series of houses organised underneath two large, circular concrete openings that fan upwards from a central meeting point.
    An entryway and garden sit under one such opening, while the remaining living spaces are tucked underneath the opposite across two levels.
    Find out more about Casa VO and Casa WO ›
    Photo is by Oki HiroyukiTile House, Vietnam, Bloom Architects
    Bloom Architects designed this home in Vietnam to stay cool despite the hot climate by creating a sloping, tiled roof that traps wind and pushes it into the interior of the house.
    “[In the] sunny season, tiles surrounding the house prevent it from being radiated [with] heat. Combined with natural ventilation, the house is always cool,” architect Dinh Anh Tuan told Dezeen.
    Find out more about Tile House ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring tranquil interiors with oversized windows, enclosed staircases and metallic furnishings.

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      FOG Architecture transforms Beijing courtyard house into fragrance store

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      Chinese studio FOG Architecture has turned a courtyard house in Beijing into a flagship store for fragrance brand ToSummer with exposed wooden roof trusses and columns.

      Located within a 500-square-meter Siheyuan complex, the store occupies  a 280-year-old courtyard house that are common in the region.
      The store is located at a restored courtyard house in BeijingFOG Architecture renovated the building to reveal its original architecture, which features triangle-shaped timber roof trusses and series of wooden columns.
      Layers of decorations added on the structure over the years as well as some of the interior walls were removed to expose the core wooden structure of the building as well as to create an open view of the space.
      The studio exposed the wooden roof trusses and columns of the original building”We ‘skimmed’ the building to expose its ‘skeleton’,” said the studio. The resultant ‘column field’ became the visual centre of gravity of the space as well as what defines its outline.”

      “One of the challenges of the project had to do with the building’s old and new functions – more specifically, how to transform this venerable courtyard which has stood for nearly 300 years as a private residence into a commercial space that is neighbourly, communal, and all-inclusive,” it continued.
      Product display areas are arranged around the courtyardsGlass windows were installed at the storefront, inviting visitors on the street to observe the complex layout of the old courtyard house, while glass walls were used to divide the space.
      Product display areas were arranged around three courtyards of various sizes at the ground level of the complex, each connected by a bridging hallway, which the studio described as “symbol of graduating from the past to the present”.

      FOG Architecture creates kinetic display for Super Seed’s Hangzhou store

      On the first floor,  FOG Architecture remodelled the roof space to create a lounge area overlooking the building’s roofs.
      These roofs were restored with the same grey brick tiles from the original building layered in the same density.
      Grey brick tiles from the original building are restoredA rain chain was hung from the roof connecting to a hundred-year-old well of the site. The well-preserved brickwork of the well echoes the delicate crafts of the roof tiles.
      FOG Architecture was founded by Zheng Yu and Zhan Di and has offices in London, Shanghai and Chongqing.
      Previously the studio has completed flagship stores for ToSummer in Beijing and Shanghai. Other recent retail project from the studio include Super Seed’s Hangzhou store featuring kinetic display.
      The photography is by InSpace Architectural Photography.
      Project credits:
      Design team: Zou Dejing, Wu Leilei, Wang Shengqi, Tang Mo, Lei Ronghua, Jiang Lu, Huang Yingzi, Zhuang Shaokai, Sun Yuan, Zhang Xinyue, Chen Yixuan, Zheng Yining, Tao Xinwei, Cao Xiaomao, Hou Shaokai, Xiong Aijie, Khoon Choi (client representative), Zhan Di, Zheng YuProject management: Shen Qianshi (client representative)Lighting Design: Zhang Xu, Liben DesignStructural engineering Consultant: Tao Xinwei, Wang HaiboConstruction drawing: BS DesignContractor: Youlong Jinsheng

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      Five houses where the courtyard is the heart of the home

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      Charmaine Chan has highlighted 25 recently completed courtyard houses for her book Courtyard living: Contemporary houses of the Asia-Pacific. Here she picks five of the most interesting. As the book’s title suggests, Courtyard living: Contemporary houses of the Asia-Pacific is a compilation of houses completed in the past 10 years across Asia and Oceania that are focused […] More

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      Tree rises up through centre of House in Yoga by Keiji Ashizawa Design

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      A greenery-filled courtyard lies at the heart of this home that Keiji Ashizawa Design has created for a family of five in Tokyo’s Yoga neighbourhood. Located just outside of the bustling, shop-lined streets of Tokyo’s Shibuya ward, House in Yoga is designed to let its inhabitants experience the outdoors in an urban context. The house, […] More

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      Hernan Landolfo and Marcos Asa top courtyard house in Argentina with glass extension

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      Argentinian architects Hernan Landolfo and Marcos Asa have extended an apartment in Buenos Aires and reorganised the living spaces around a double-height atrium with an olive tree growing in the centre. Landolfo and Asa were enlisted by his clients to expand their living space to include a home office. They determined that the best way […] More