Good fences make good neighbors. Or maybe the saying should be “Well-designed fences make good neighbors.” That’s the message of these three projects—they’re all about great design. Fences are “accessories to the house,” explains Dallas-based architect Dan Shipley, “and like any fashion accessory they are often more important than the main outfit.”
Garage Camouflage
Photo: Tim Street-Porter Every room in this house extends out to a terrace, patio, or courtyard to take maximum advantage of the mild Los Angeles climate and the Pacific Ocean panorama. Because the site is relatively flat, sightlines from the street put most of these outdoor spaces in plain view. So architect Steven Ehrlich surrounded the house and grounds with a privacy wall, but not just any wall: “It’s carefully detailed so that you can’t tell where the garage door is,” says Ehrlich. “And the design also hides the gate.” Redwood was a natural material choice because it’s local and light enough to work for the garage door and gate. A horizontal shiplap configuration conceals the points of entry, and a rectangular groove cut into the boards adds depth and emphasizes the lines of the 7-foot-tall enclosure. An open motor court separates the redwood fence from the street, making the fence seem more like an extension of the house than a dividing wall. Not wanting to tarnish views in any direction, Ehrlich made sure the wall was “double faced so looking from inside to outside you see the same careful details.”
Builder: Winters Schram Associates, Los Angeles; Architect: Steven Ehrlich Architects, Culver City, Calif.; Landscape architect: Joseph Marek, Santa Monica, Calif.; Photographer: Tim Street-Porter.
Photo: Charles D. Smith Going Green
When architect Dan Shipley set out to design this courtyard enclosure, he was looking for the ideal material to obstruct the sight and sound of cars passing through the adjacent alley. He found it in PVC panels, which he chose because they are “lightweight and resilient.” The material also “won’t rot and holds paint quite well,” an important attribute because the architect wanted to use color to jazz up the PVC and the adjacent spaces.
Photo: Charles D. Smith It took the homeowner and architect time to find the hue that would add a bright note to the neutral palette of the house. It was worth the trial-and-error effort, however, because the vivid yellow-green they selected “takes on different qualities depending on the light, and it’s a good color in the landscape, especially in the spring,” says Shipley. Although the solid enclosure offers full privacy for the homeowners, Shipley didn’t want to completely cut off the outside world. Raising the panels 4 inches off the ground gives the courtyard a sense of movement. Shipley and his clients enjoy the way the combination of funky fencing material with cool color creates an enclosure that is a “nice, bright reminder in the winter that things will be green again.”
Builder: Bob Sullivan, Dallas; Architect: Dan Shipley, Dallas; Landscape architect: Michael Kinlear, Arlington, Texas; Photographer: Charles D. Smith.
Photo: Robert Gries Hand Woven
The owners of this infill lot in a close-in suburb of Dallas were conflicted. They enjoyed the old-growth trees bordering their corner yard but didn’t appreciate the two fairly busy alleyways abutting it. Architect Dan Shipley resolved the conflict with four woven metal screens that overlap visually but physically stand apart. The freestanding screens block less desirable views yet let light and sound filter through. “The client didn’t want the backyard to be completely
Photo: Robert Gries closed off,” says Shipley, “so we kept it open in a strategic way that maintains the sense of space.” Shipley and his resourceful fence co-conspirator, Pete Carpenter, assembled the screens from sheared strips of galvanized steel woven through metal rods. The rods are inserted in PVC pipes that are set in concrete footings. “Then we just put a hem on the end to gather the sharp ends of the metal strips,” says Shipley of their hand-woven creation.
Builder/Architect: Shipley Architects, Dallas, and Pete Carpenter, Dallas; Photographer: Robert Gries.
