Courtyard House
Houses organised around an open courtyard, covering how enclosed outdoor space shapes light, privacy, climate response and daily life.
A courtyard house arranges its rooms around a central open space, using the enclosed court as a source of daylight, ventilation and private outdoor living. The typology appears across climates and eras, from Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dwellings to contemporary urban infill and rural sites.Community work on this topic examines how the courtyard is set within dense city blocks, forest edges, prairies and existing masonry shells, and how plan geometry, wall height and material choices control openness toward the street. Projects range from summer houses and multi-generational homes to compact urban carvings on constrained lots.
