The power of green: urban oases from Sydney to San Francisco
Preventing the spread of Covid-19 forced many of us to isolate in our homes, where private space – indoor and outdoor – became valuable and a privilege. Indeed, as urban areas become more crowded due to population growth and increasing development, private outdoor spaces become more elusive. Urban Oasis: Tranquil Outdoor Spaces at Home, written by me and published by The Images Publishing Group, is a showcase of courtyards, rooftops, patios, terraces, backyards and gardens, from London to New York and Sydney to San Francisco. These pockets of paradise provide relaxing, sociable and plant-filled settings for residents to savour peace and calm and the company of family and friends.
Urban Oasis features projects in which the designers – from large landscape architecture firms to local gardeners – creatively bed the landscapes into their architectural surroundings. With consideration for context and climate, the designers utilise architecture and vegetation for privacy, sun and shade, and draw inspiration from nature, culture and far-off places.
This small selection of the 34 projects I showcased in Urban Oasis are fresh and inviting urban oases that feel removed from city life, while being inherently embedded within it.
Location: New York, USA
Designer: Andrew Franz Architect
Andrew Franz Architect transformed the top floors of a former caviar warehouse in Tribeca, New York, into a warm and welcoming residence with enchanting pockets of outdoor space.
A mid-century garden and courtyard hovers over the living area in a glass-encased box showered with natural light. It provides a covered outdoor oasis to enjoy breakfast or the newspaper in colder weather, and a secluded sanctuary to sit outside on balmy, sun-drenched days.
The rooftop terrace above the courtyard has picture-postcard views of Manhattan and the Hudson River. The lounge-like seating is sheltered by a timber wall, and low-maintenance native plants and flowers provide a verdant green and bright yellow backdrop. They complement the vibrant sunflower-coloured cushions and graphic lime-green metal chairs, and a petal-shaped side table adds a final floral flourish.
Location: Sydney, Australia
Designer: Quercus Gardens
This tropical garden near Bondi Beach in Sydney is a fern-filled sanctuary for lazing away the summer days. It takes advantages of the neighbour’s Phoenix Palmas, its fern fronds arching over the fence to create a canopy of shade over the outdoor sofa at the end of the garden. A bright yellow-and-white striped awning shades the dining area and is a nod to sunny summer days and beautiful Bondi Beach, which lies just beyond the garden walls.
Location: Chicago, USA
Designer: dSPACE Studio
Sonoma on the Californian coast is on every wine-lover’s bucket list. The owners of this house wanted to recreate Sonoma’s open-air lifestyle in their inner-suburban Chicago garden to remind them of California’s big-sky country.
dSPACE Studio created an outdoor space for cooking, dining, relaxing and entertaining, with a swimming pool and outdoor television area.
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Designer: BENT Architecture
Green spaces have benefits not only for people, but also for the birds, the bees and the environment. This garden, 28 storeys above the street, is a spectacular site that provides a rooftop refuge for the owners, and a sky-high habitat for fauna and flora. The homeowners wanted a suburban-garden experience with knock-out Melbourne views.
The rooftop has space for living, dining, socialising and entertaining. A timber dining table nestled into a cosy nook of the rooftop has a sculptural
steel arbour arch that provides protection from the wind and sun and obstructs views from offices and apartments above.
Location: New York, USA
Designer: XS Space
This Greenwich Village townhouse garden is a composition of balance and restraint amid the concrete jungle and frenetic energy of New York.
The owner wanted a garden to complement the design of their home with clean lines and a low-maintenance palette of plants that stay green throughout the seasons. Inspired by Japanese principles of design, the courtyard has minimalist beauty and a quiet atmosphere, providing a serene escape from the city’s fast-paced streets.
Location: London, UK
Designer: Cityscapers
Cityscapers designed this London courtyard as a contemporary take on the traditional East Asian garden. Steeped in history, Chinese and Japanese gardens express a harmony between man and nature with pathways connecting ponds, rocks and trees, and offering carefully composed scenes like landscape paintings.
Location: Gold Coast, Australia
Designers: Symbiosphere and Wernicks Landscape
Outdoor privacy can be hard to come by when large neighbouring houses and tall apartment blocks overlook your backyard. These homeowners wanted a private outdoor space, so Symbiosphere designed a U-shaped house with a central courtyard providing a secret, subtropical sun trap.
Greenery flourishes in living chandeliers are suspended from the beams above. Wernicks Landscape designed and developed the living chandeliers and placed them for sightlines, privacy and convenience. A herb garden is easily reached in the chandelier next to the kitchen, and a dense arrangement of subtropical plants provides a lush view and privacy outside the luxurious bath.
Location: Sydney, Australia
Designer: Fig Landscapes
This house and garden is the stomping ground of a very energetic kelpie named Ian. His parents wanted a native Australian garden with plenty of space for Ian to run, and robust plants that would withstand his active play.
Fig Landscapes designed a native garden with a rustic, bucolic vibe. Lawn stretches out from the back of the house, providing Ian with turf to romp around. At the back of the property, the homeowners can enjoy a fire with their family and friends.
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Designer: Paal Grant Designs
Conversation pits, or sunken lounges, were the talk of the town in the mid-twentieth century. Paal Grant Designs carved out a conversation pit into this Melbourne rooftop terrace, offering a cosy environment for friends and family to sit and chat around the roaring flame of the fire pit.
Location: Sydney, Australia
Designer: CplusC Architectural Workshop
The owners of this home are an environmentally conscious and socially responsible couple who wanted a house and garden driven by their passion for sustainability and self-sufficiency.
The permaculture garden, with an aquaponics system designed by Sydney Organic Gardens, allows them to harvest edible fish, vegetables, eggs and water.
The nutrient-rich water in the fish tanks is used to fertilise the productive vertical garden. Chickens in the coop provide daily eggs and a vegetable garden provides fresh produce. The homeowners share their excess eggs and vegetables with friends, family and neighbours, which has become a way to interact with and build a community.
Location: San Francisco, USA
Designer: Arterra Landscape Architects
Perching on top of a hill in San Francisco, this house has a series of stacked outdoor spaces connected by stairs that zig-zag and spiral up and down. Every level celebrates a different view and provides all the residents with their own special spot.
An entertainment area has built-in bench seats around a fire pit, and a sun-lounging deck on the roof of a shipping container is surrounded by native grasses and wildflowers, and a carpet of perennials.
Urban Oasis: Tranquil Outdoor Spaces at Home, by Rebecca Gross and published by The Images Publishing Group, is available at book stores internationally and online.
Originally published by Houzz.
