Villa Landscaping | Or Kochav

The location is a town in central Israel, in which three families live in two buildings, between which there is an office building. A road passes between the buildings, which serves as an entrance to the private houses as well as a route for trucks containing equipment and employee vehicles arriving in the office building. As a result, the yard, which was intended to be a green space, was not used by the families. As the families grew and had children, there was a drastic need to change the yard in order to improve the families’ quality of life. The idea behind this plan was to create a central common yard which will serve three existing families. The yard is located between two buildings, but still manages to maintain a private garden for each family. This garden will also include a safe play-area for the children while creating a separation between a public workplace area and a private family yard. Separating the public from the private was achieved by relocating the road and moving it from the centre of the lot to its side, and by planting a green hedge along the side of the houses – thus connecting the living area to the yard and making it an enjoyable, private playground for the children. In addition, the planning included: play areas, a swimming pool with an electric cover which can be shut while the children are in the yard, and a large pergola which includes a kitchen and various seating areas spread around the yard, in order to provide a wide range of uses and different levels of privacy to each of the users. The yard will be the “heart” in which the families will spend most of their day: for the children to play in before leaving for kindergarten, for a morning cup of coffee while reading the newspaper, for friends coming over to visit and for family dinners.