An individual’s right to privacy may raise political questions, but when it comes to protecting the home, owners still reign supreme. The privacy fences and gates highlighted below provide attractive solutions for generating seclusion while maintaining a neighborly façade. Architect Michael Antenora suggests that designers and builders discuss the levels of visual, acoustic, and environmental privacy the client wants before starting the design. “Those factors determine density,” says Antenora, who adds that varying a perimeter’s opacity creates distinct environments for outdoor spaces.
Multi Layered “The client wanted something partially transparent that also provided privacy,” says architect Lawson Willard about this San Francisco garden wall. “A solid stucco base with cedar latticework in the middle and a metal screen on top picks up on the Japanese idea of layered spaces.” The fence runs 50 feet around the street elevation to create a secluded entry courtyard. Landscaping outside the 6-foot-high walls hints at a denser oasis within their confines. A solid-wood gate framed in powder-coated steel reaches 5 feet across (room enough for carrying furniture) and is marked by a raised trellis above. The fence and gate mimic the tall, narrow proportions of the house’s exterior.
Photo: David Duncan Livingston Willard allowed the fence to flex with site conditions. At one point, the structure merges seamlessly with the second-story deck railing and another section follows the natural grade as it drops downhill. The gate is offset from the home’s entryway, so that as it swings inward and guests walk across the randomly spaced stepping stones they are forced to slow down and relax.
Builder: Structural FX, San Mateo, Calif.; Architect: Lawson Willard Architecture, San Francisco; Photographer: David Duncan Livingston.
Slated for Security
Photo: Paul Bardagjy The owners wanted sleek security without making their Austin, Texas, home look like a fortress. Robin Camp, project manager for crowell + builders, says the mix of materials enhances the hominess of the enclosure while interspersed see-through sections offer glimpses of the yard. A steel frame with overlapping anodized aluminum panels makes up the pedestrian gate that swings open into a spacious front yard. “The gate turns, so you don’t directly face the house,” says Camp. “This lets you wander around before getting to the door.” Smooth slabs of Vermont blue slate adjoin the aluminum section that houses a mailbox and intercom. Custom aluminum bolt covers break up the slate’s monolithic expanse. Corner posts are made with Brazilian slate bricks set in a staggered pattern. Just inside the wall, a fountain splashes over both sides of one of these corner posts so outsiders also benefit from the playful water feature. Builder: crowell +, Austin, Texas; Architect: Dick Clark Architecture, Austin; Photographer: Paul Bardagjy. Glowing Review
Photo: Paul Bardagjy This urban home sits on a wedge-shaped lot facing two busy streets. A single-story floor plan fills 2,500 square feet of the tight lot, so there isn’t much left for outdoor enjoyment. “We wanted to protect ourselves from the noise and danger of the street,” says homeowner/ architect Michael Antenora, “and capture most of the yard for private spaces rather than public ones.” A fence borders three sides of the house, producing three separate courtyards that can be connected by opening up both ends of a central breezeway. “Rather than closing us in, the fence makes the house feel larger because we’ve extended the living spaces.”
Photo: Paul Bardagjy Industrial materials stand up to Texas heat and humidity while Asian-themed detailing lightens the look. “The gate is a large abstraction of a Japanese lantern,” says Antenora. A bronze-painted steel grid sandwiches acrylic sheets resembling rice paper. Construction-grade redwood outlines operable and fixed sections of the enclosure. Since the panels transmit light, the fence glows when the sun sits low on the horizon. And at night, the home’s illumination actually turns the exterior perimeter into one big lantern. Builder: Tallstar Construction, Austin, Texas; Architect: Michael Antenora, Austin; Metalwork: Lost Pines Metalwork, Austin; Photographer: Paul Bardagjy.
