The Architects Bringing Indoor-Outdoor Living To New Levels
CMR House by Estudio MMX, Mexico City. Image courtesy of Archdaily.
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to stay indoors, our craving for the outdoors is stronger than ever. Those with the means and opportunity abandoned city life for homes in the countryside or sparsely populated suburbs. And luxury home buyers are opting for sprawling outdoor spaces that prioritize wellness over towering skyscrapers that exude wealth.
Indoor-outdoor living exploded in the mid-20th century when urbanites moved to the suburbs, and transitional living spaces became the norm for climates that could sustain it.
In 2022, the trend continues. Homebuyers, aware of how nature impacts wellbeing, are seeking good air quality, verdant surroundings and access to outdoor recreation. Architects and developers around the world are taking notice. They’re also reaping the benefits: Building outdoor living spaces is cheaper, creates a better user experience and shows commitment to the environment and wellbeing.
5 Architects designing amazing indoor outdoor living spaces
Mid-century modern architecture might have broken the barrier between indoor living and the great outdoors, but these five architecture firms are finding new ways to bring nature inside.
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Peterssen Keller Architecture | Minnesota, USA
This firm has created some of the most exceptional, enduring homes surrounding the Great Lakes including a “dramatic organic modern island home” and a “serene and sophisticated cottage on Lake Superior.” Things every project has in common? Sustainability and harmony with the natural surroundings.
One of their most impressive projects is a California-inspired home on the banks of Bde Maka Ska Lake. The clients wanted a modern home with “a strong indoor/outdoor connection” that “effortlessly brought the outdoors in.” Not an easy ask in a place like Minnesota, where winter temperatures average between 8 and 18 degrees Fahrenheit and snowfall between 35 and 70+ inches per year. To expose the homeowners to the outdoors without exposing them to the elements, PKA used large, sliding glass doors and floor-to-ceiling windows that created “a strong connection between indoors and out”, creating the ideal indoor outdoor living room.
Unique indoor outdoor living design ideas
GG-loop | Amsterdam, the Netherlands
This firm captured global attention in 2016 with its Gentle Genius project. Principal Giacamo Garziano renovated his parents’ house in southern Italy, transforming the facade into a sculptural marvel while also improving the building’s energy efficiency. The project is a perfect example of the firm’s philosophy, which draws from nature and Garziano’s love of music. GG-loop projects also take a biomimetic approach, which pushes sustainable design further by “deeply studying and applying construction principles that are found in natural environments and species.” In the last several years, GG-loop has applied this approach to a series of biophilic apartment buildings in and around Amsterdam including the Freebooter and Mitosis.
The Freebooter on Zeeburgerieland island embraces indoor-outdoor living in a new way. The complex is a “modern-day ship on land” and includes references to the island’s maritime history. Garziano used wood, steel and glass to create an organic, free-flowing interior and an exterior wrapped in vertical slats like a wave. Light also plays an important role. The team studied the sun’s year-round movement to create the parametric shape and positioning of the louvers. This allowed for “optimal sunlight to flood the apartment while…maintaining the necessary privacy.”
Currently in the preliminary phase, Mitosis uses prefabricated timber and bio-based modules. Affordable and flexible, these materials capture carbon and are more energy-efficient. Buildings are designed to evolve with the surroundings. They recreate the local ecosystem and incorporate plant and animal life, allowing residents, flora and fauna to coexist.
Using creative indoor outdoor living design ideas
Studio Velocity | Okazaki, Japan
This firm has a reputation for transforming existing structures into flexible, indoor-outdoor living spaces. Case in point: their residential projects. Zoning Mountain features three separate buildings that curve around a mountain. House Surrounded by Hedges, per the name, is surrounded entirely by hedges and made of almost entirely transparent walls topped by titled geometric roofs. Their most famous build is actually one they created for themselves. The Sannouno office building transformed the original two-level structure and expanded it to three thanks to an innovative rooftop created with gravity and tension. The creative space is “perforated by trees that grow from the ground floor” and features a glassed-in seating area.
Integrated design solutions for indoor outdoor living
LiD Architecture | Donegal County, Ireland
This firm integrates nature with the built environment to transform “simple everyday activities [into] rich and evocative experiences.” While most people understand architecture as a visual object, LiD considers the landscape surrounding a build to dissolve the barrier between the two. Pairing these two elements encourages interaction and a supportive relationship that allow for a “more complete environment.”
LiD’s Landscape Room was nominated for several awards in 2009/10. Overlooking Glencar Lake, the project took a traditional home and transformed it into a contemporary residence by opening the layout and altering the way people, light and air move throughout. The namesake room is an indoor-outdoor, sun-filled space connected to the kitchen. It features a pond, fed by roof rainwater, that pulls the eye toward the garden pond and the lake beyond.
Showcasing outdoor indoor living spaces
Estudio MMX | Mexico City, Mexico
This innovative firm is best known for the CMR House, a modern home created “around an existing garden they found too beautiful to demolish.” To save the green area, the team broke up the buildings and connected them through transitional spaces that encourage residents to pause and take in the garden view. This connection between inhabitants and the outdoors is possible throughout the home thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows, exposed walkways, terraces and doorways that open to the garden before taking you back inside.
Indoor outdoor design FOR improved user experience
The importance and impact of green spaces on our mental and physical wellbeing continue to grow as we spend more time indoors and in front of devices. Cost and availability of land are among the factors keeping many from their ideal indoor-outdoor living space. But, creativity and innovation are leading to cost-efficient solutions that integrate within existing environments and, when executed correctly, help them flourish.
