Terracing is a formal technique often applied to landscapes to deal with steep slopes. But terraces may also be utilised in architecture, to deal with challenging topography or simply to provide additional outdoor space. The examples below illustrate the exceptional forms and spaces which come from terracing, or stepping up as the building increases. This technique allows outdoor spaces to be placed upon the roof of this room below. These are a few of the least common houses found on , but they might be just the ideal design solution in certain conditions.
Lane Williams Architects
This home is located on a steep hillside overlooking Yarrow Bay at Washington state. Coop 15 Architecture shaped the home to follow the topography and to supply a series of terraces for taking in views of their water. This is the (personal) back of the home, which requires in the water vista.
Lane Williams Architects
The solution to the front door on the opposite side of the home hints in the stepping. This narrow space shows some stepped massing, however, the concrete perimeter wall right allows the stepping in the back of the home to “release” the sky and view.
Lane Williams Architects
Step through the front door and you’ve got the option of going up the staircase into a bridge or heading down several steps toward the back of the home. Notice the door near the peak of the staircase, an access to one of the terraces.
Lane Williams Architects
1 final view of the home appears back in the front door from atop the staircase. The architects took advantage of the topography and stepped profile to make a double-height living room using a bridge.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
In the hills of Washington state to the flatness of Long Island, New York: This home by Resolution: 4 Architecture is terraced to provide plenty of outdoor space for soaking in views of the Atlantic Ocean.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
Looking toward the southern side of the home, two roof terraces are visible above an inset terrace in the bottom level. Notice the staircase in the very low level to the initial roof terrace.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
This is the view out of the inset terrace on the bottom level. It gives a sheltered outdoor space for enjoying the sea vista during inclement weather.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
Increasing the staircase from the bottom level brings us into this terrace, a generous roof space with views of the Atlantic (reflected from the sliding glass doors). Wooden louvers will help to shade the interior from sunlight. But how does one get into the uppermost roof?
Resolution: 4 Architecture
This staircase, which ascends toward the Atlantic along with the very best roof deck, is located on the east side of the home. Be aware that a balcony used for grilling beneath the staircase.
Resolution: 4 Architecture
Taking a look at the approach into the house from the north, it’s apparent that the terracing a part of a intricate type of raised and inset open spaces. The ramp up the two-story cutout entry is particularly nice.
Rudolfsson Alliker Associates Architects
Another area in which terracing is proper is multifamily housing. This three-unit construction in Australia made by Rudolfsson Alliker is particularly well done, partly because it looks like a single-family home in implementation. This garden perspective shows each level, but only the top two levels (containing one unit) are visible from the street. Terracing functions to manage the steep topography of the site.
Rudolfsson Alliker Associates Architects
Here’s the dining room of the middle flat, which can be afforded a double-height space. A mezzanine overlooking the dining room space takes advantage of this elevation and the views out of the glass over the sliding wall.
Rudolfsson Alliker Associates Architects
Here’s a view in the kitchen and dining area of the bottom unit, the lucky one who is afforded a yard right outside the sliding glass wall.
This project designed by Bercy Chen Studio comprises three similar houses, each having an retractable patio overlooking a neighboring lake. Solid wood walls define the sides and reinforce the views from the terraces.
The top of each residence is utilized as a room for entertaining. The green roofs aid in insulating the three-story houses. Notice the cutout on the left; each home is oriented around a central light well.
By imitating the terraces, the projecting slabs provide shade for the chambers below, which can be important from the Texas heat.
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