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We are always striving to find more effective ways to blur the boundary between inside and
out in order to create opportunities for engagement with nature. As a result, we challenged
the typical relationship between the two conditions by rethinking their standard arrangement.

Instead of making the home a central core of interior spaces looking out on the natural
environment around it, we started with an outdoor space as the center of the home. With a

beautiful outdoor space at the center, we were able to bring the natural environment into the
daily life of the interior.

Water, stone, and vegetation are the essential elements of the central outdoor space.
Multiple water features bring the space to life and connect the various spaces of the home.
The largest water feature starts high behind the home and is viewed from the large dining

room window and the living room. A smaller stream starts by the kitchen and joins the
larger one at the outdoor dining room before flowing over a portion of the home and down
the largest waterfall. The stream then meanders in front of the large entry windows before

ending in a pond by the front door. On the other side of the front door another stream of
water flows from the wall. Upon entering the home, a rock filled basin of water seems to
be the source of this stream. The water flows into the basin along a piece of glass that

slips through the ceiling and directs attention to the main level above, where it falls a total
of twenty feet before reaching the lower basin. Along the edges of the water features,

flowers and shrubs bring vibrant colors and interest to the central outdoor space while
large boulders shape the space. The largest boulders form a cliff face creating the illusion
that a stream existed prior to construction, then we simply built around it.

The many ways the central outdoor space flows inside as an active part of the interior
experience of the home are direct examples of architecture’s ability to encourage routine

engagement with nature. A few specific examples are materials that slip from outside to in,
a rock garden that flows through the window into the interior space, and the relationship
between the indoor and outdoor water features both visually and audibly.

CARVED BY NATURE.