Mary English and Xavier Vendrell designed the 183-square meter (1,970-square-foot) three-bedroom home for English's sister and her family. The home, centered on a 1,012 square meter lot (quarter-acre), was completed in July 2022.
In this area, typical houses are only connected to the outside from the front and rear, with views from the sides conditioned by the neighbors' view easements (only 3 meters or 10 feet). To improve the entry of natural light, the architects designed a housing typology with three patios aligned along this linear plot.
Four volumes, connected by a larger one located transversally, all gabled, generate three courtyards creating a house that abounds with daylight and layered transparencies. A model inspired by Walter Gropius' 1938 home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where the courtyards and porches are all "rooms," only some have ceilings and some don't
Susan's House by Mary English and Xavier Vendrell. Photograph by Timothy Hursley.
Susan's House by Mary English and Xavier Vendrell. Photograph by Timothy Hursley.
Outside, is a white stucco house, with a primary porch parallel to the street. Programmatically, the house sits a bedroom on either end with the kitchen and dining room in the center. Perpendicular, separated by three courtyards and crossing the main door, there is another porch inside (that contains the bike storage), after, crossing a second door there is a living room or screened porch (which can be used as a living, dining, or sleeping room), and at the end a master suite.
Three open-air courtyards separate these glazing spaces, generating a spatial continuity, that increases the size perception of the interior and improvement the cross-natural ventilation.
In this area, typical houses are only connected to the outside from the front and rear, with views from the sides conditioned by the neighbors' view easements (only 3 meters or 10 feet). To improve the entry of natural light, the architects designed a housing typology with three patios aligned along this linear plot.
Four volumes, connected by a larger one located transversally, all gabled, generate three courtyards creating a house that abounds with daylight and layered transparencies. A model inspired by Walter Gropius' 1938 home in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where the courtyards and porches are all "rooms," only some have ceilings and some don't
Susan's House by Mary English and Xavier Vendrell. Photograph by Timothy Hursley.
Susan's House by Mary English and Xavier Vendrell. Photograph by Timothy Hursley.
Outside, is a white stucco house, with a primary porch parallel to the street. Programmatically, the house sits a bedroom on either end with the kitchen and dining room in the center. Perpendicular, separated by three courtyards and crossing the main door, there is another porch inside (that contains the bike storage), after, crossing a second door there is a living room or screened porch (which can be used as a living, dining, or sleeping room), and at the end a master suite.
Three open-air courtyards separate these glazing spaces, generating a spatial continuity, that increases the size perception of the interior and improvement the cross-natural ventilation.
