The connection between the interior and the exterior concerns almost everyone who builds or renovates a home.

We all dream of natural light flooding the rooms and strive to see as much greenery as possible through the windows.

Slogans like “bringing the outside in” are thrown around in almost every conversation about designing an apartment or house, but in this house designed by Yael Shahar and Lior Rosenfeld of Shahar Rosenfeld Architects, it is not an empty slogan but a complete concept that guided them through the planning, design, and construction process.

The house was designed for a family of five, a couple with three children, the youngest of whom was born with a rare syndrome.

They wanted an accessible home that was tailored to their needs, natural, designed and aesthetically pleasing but not flashy. The architects put all the requirements together and took advantage of the lot and its green surroundings to create a home where the interior and exterior blend perfectly. This is how they did it –

Ofri Paz | Stanley Home

1. The location of the house on the lot

The plot in question is a dream by all accounts – an isolated plot at the edge of the settlement, facing Cypress Avenue, behind which is an open landscape, “Tuscany Israeli,” as architect Lior Rosenfeld called it. To make the most of the conditions of the plot, which is about a dunam in size, the house is placed at the edge of the plot in a way that leaves maximum space for the back garden facing the landscape. “We aimed to design a structure that does not harm the landscape and that acclimatizes with the environment and among the trees as cleanly as possible,” adds the architect. Even the railings that separate the plot from its surroundings were designed from iron in a minimalist design so as not to block the view.

2. The geometry of the structure

The house was designed on two levels – on the ground floor, the shared functions – kitchen, dining area and living room, in addition to a master suite and another unit for the youngest son, who was born with severe cerebral palsy. On the lower floor, surrounded by a bright English courtyard, rooms were designed for the two teenage daughters and a study.

Geometrically, the ground floor was divided into two boxes – a box containing the living rooms, and a larger, taller box, which appears to ride above it, and includes the public space. Together, the boxes create an L-shape, allowing for exposure of the view to the entire public space and to the master suite, which juts out towards the pool.

3. Envelope design

“Even inside the house, you feel part of the outside,” emphasizes Lior. To achieve the impressive feeling and appearance, especially large display cases were designed that create maximum opening to the outside. By detaching the columns from the facades and bringing them inside, a flexible envelope was created that can accommodate such large openings without constructive constraints. From a climatic perspective, noise and temperature-insulating glass was chosen, and light floods the house from different directions in a controlled manner through carefully designed openings. Take, for example, the separation of the kitchen wall from the roof, which lets in natural light without exposing the space to too much radiation and ensures the privacy of the family members.

4. Intermediate area between the inside and the outside

In designing the house, the architects created a middle area between the private interior and the open garden by pulling the roof out and creating a covered courtyard. A wooden pergola topped with a rainproof roof actually continues the ceiling of the house outwards. This creates a shaded and pleasant area outside for sitting and entertaining, and from the inside, the house feels larger than its size. In addition, the connection between the interior and exterior is strengthened both visually and functionally, as the indoor and outdoor living areas continue each other.

5. Patio that accompanies the staircase

The staircase that connects the ground floor to the basement is to the right of the entrance door and faces the front facade of the house. A patio designed next to the staircase brings in natural light and, although it does not face the yard or the landscape, a refreshing natural feeling is achieved. Vertical wooden bars add warmth and maintain the privacy of the house’s residents. Green vegetation aligns with the level of the podium (the intermediate surface between the staircases), thus creating the feeling of a tiny courtyard halfway between the floors.

6. Choosing finishing materials

The architects were careful to choose natural materials in warm tones and textures with a subtle roughness. Wood with a natural finish is combined here with iron elements such as the railings and the minimalist library next to the living room. The exterior walls are covered with plaster and plaster, which gets its special look thanks to mixing the plaster with tiny stones (aggregates). The basement floor is covered with parquet and for the ground floor, a flooring of brushed exposed concrete was chosen, which creates a clean but interesting surface with the help of aggregates incorporated into the concrete casting before smoothing it.

7. Incorporating vegetation

Lior explains that the vegetation in the house was designed according to the concept of “close view and distant view,” meaning that green areas attached to the building emphasize the more distant view and blend in with it to create a gradation. The idea can be understood best by looking at the front door, which tells the story of the house from the very first moment. In front of the door, a large showcase was designed, a kind of small patio, with vegetation next to it. Looking deeper, we can also see the green courtyard and beyond it the open landscape. In this way, the gaze is drawn outward and the surroundings become an integral part of the house.

8. Planning the pool and yard

The house was made accessible for the youngest child in the family, and accordingly the backyard was designed largely as a uniform plane that continues the floor of the house. Even the pool continues the same plane with a hidden spillway system and angled sides (grooved cut). The result is a uniform line that connects to the landscape and long, uninterrupted views. The area between the house and the pool is paved with amorphous stepping stones that also emphasize the connection to the landscape and nature.

Planning and design: Yael Shahar and Lior Rosenfeld

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Photo: Shai Epstein

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Photo styling: Maya Livnat Harush

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