In the annals of architecture that seek to bring more of the outdoors inside, this project is among the most clever. Designed by Fraher & Findlay, the modern single-story rear extension features a living roof that provides the upper floors, which normally look out onto an urban backyard, with a bucolic view of wildflowers. Dubbed the Courtyard House by the architects, the extension also has a tsubo niwa, a slim airshaft garden that acts as an outdoor sitting room.
Have a look:
Photography by Adam Scott, courtesy of Fraher & Findlay.
![Behind the modern addition, which houses the kitchen and dining areas, is the original home, built in the early \1900s. The residence is in South West London, a conservation area close to the River Thames.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house-733x646.jpg)
![The living roof on the single-story addition allows the upper floors to have a much greener view than they would otherwise have.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house1-733x489.jpg)
![Aside from the kitchen and dining areas, the extension includes a snug room, right under the wildflower roof.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house2-733x1099.jpg)
![A peek into the kitchen, on a slightly raised part of the addition.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house4-733x489.jpg)
![The rooftop daisy meadow, up close.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house9-733x489.jpg)
![The view from inside the addition, toward the backyard, with the wildflower roof visible. To the right is a courtyard.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house5-733x489.jpg)
![The courtyard offers easy indoor-outdoor living.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house6-733x1099.jpg)
![Every window in the extension welcomes the outdoors in.](https://media.gardenista.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/fraher-findlay-wildflower-roof-courtyard-house8-733x489.jpg)
You can see more of this project here.
For more urban gardens we admire, see:
- Americans in Paris: A Very Private Garden on Rue du Bac
- Garden Visit: Emily Thompson Explores Her Dark Side at a Brooklyn Heights Townhouse
- Designer Visit: A ‘Magical Green Pocket Garden’ in San Francisco
N.B.: This post is an update; it was first published September 2020.
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