Existing House
A typical suburban home in Boulder, CO that lacks the adequate square footage for home/office use.
Urban Fence | Courtyard
The addition of a new stand-alone structure along the alley allows for privacy in the rear yard. This also creates opportunities to program the new alley home with multiple functions.
Garage Subtraction
The area below the upper story is removed for a carport and entry into the new lower level.
View
The facade facing the home is made transparent allowing for a view into the rear yard and to views of the mountain beyond.
The project reminds me of the lost opportunity of garages in urban situations, particularly when they are sited off of alleys as in Chicago and other cities. In this case it provides additional area for a family of one, but it could also become a "coach house" that the family could rent out for extra money.
The prefab design by Pyatt Studio allows for variation in the cladding of the volume, done in tongue-and-groove cedar planks vertically (above) and horizontally (below). The simple and clean form and materials (wood, glass and concrete) belies how garage structures are usually seen. Here the unsightly and utilitarian is elevated to something that would be at home in the front of the house.
