Illustrative site study
Illustrative direction · courtyard and gathering conditions
A compact outdoor room, shaped around daily use
An illustrative site direction for a compact yard where circulation, outdoor meals, shade, and planting must share a limited footprint.
Illustrative site study. This page explains the decision process and conditions we would evaluate; it does not document a completed client project or promise the same result for another property.
An illustrative scenario
Give each edge of a small garden a job.
This is an editorial site direction, not a completed client project. It considers a smaller outdoor footprint where a household wants more reasons to step outside, eat, and spend time together.
We would first map sun, privacy, access, drainage, existing constraints, and the times of day the garden is likely to be used.
Questions that guide the direction
- Where a table, seating, and movement can coexist without crowding the garden.
- Gather
- How shade, wind, privacy, and evening conditions affect use.
- Comfort
- How layers can soften hard edges while leaving room for care and circulation.
- Planting
The design test
Make compactness feel intentional.
The useful answer is not always more program. It can be a clearer route, a better place to sit, or planting that gives the space a changing sense of enclosure over time.
Start with what you notice.
A short note about your site, daily routines, and the change you are considering is enough to begin.