OUR TOP 30 INTERNAL COURTYARD CRUSHES. ARE WE OBSESSED? YES!
What does the modern internal courtyard of today offer us?
Historically, and for a period of over 5000 years, they have offered protection and sanctuary from climate, animals and enemies. Today in 2017, in our age of climate change and shrinking block sizes those benefits are no less relevant.
For us at mBark Design, courtyard design is an endless opportunity to add beneficial features both aesthetic and practical to our home plans.
Top of the list of reasons we are utterly obsessed with this must have space are:
Courtyards allow the creation of expanded exterior views, giving the typically smaller internal spaces we live in today a feeling of more volume and lightness.
They allow us to plan rooms that open to a perfect (or any) day, and take advantage of breezes, sunlight and fresh air. Courtyards are regarded as a self-shading microclimate modifier that improves the comfort of the surrounding building during seasonal periods. These benefits can be further enhanced by the choice of materials used for the external wall cladding.
They borrow views and seamlessly remove boundaries between home and garden.
They provide the feeling of wellness and connection that comes from that link to an external place designed with our lifestyle in mind.
They create quiet and sheltered private spaces that are uniquely reserved for us, our family and friends to enjoy.
They provide low maintenance landscaped areas to augment today's busy lifestyle while adding the benefits we derive from close proximity to water and vegetation. Making our space more dynamic with only a moderate need for upkeep.
Lastly, because they are a joy.
attributions to designers and architects where known