Remodeling Guides
Landscape Design
Architecture
5 Unique Homes Throw the Landscape a Curve
Swooping house plans cradle views, reflect their owners' one-of-a-kind style
Perhaps the most uncommon shape for residential floor plans is the curve. Many factors make this an unusual way to build a house — namely expense, complexity, and having enough land to execute such a shape. But regardless of the difficulty in building something with curves instead of all straight lines, a number of such houses can be found on Houzz. Unlike linear and U-shaped plans, these examples illustrate a wide variety of reasons for their shapes. I'm guessing the residents are as idiosyncratic as the houses they inhabit.
Still in the horseshoe house, we can see how the circulation gently follows the curve. I like how different materials are used for either side: Rough stone delineates the inside curve, while bands of wood sit opposite. The clerestory windows hint at the courtyard to the left and the other rooms borrowing light to the right.
A more compact curving house is found here, where the focus is clearly on the pool. A generous terrace overlooks the pool, which is also curved in plan. Next, see another view.
Even if many of the materials are made up of straight or planar pieces — wood planks, glass panes, mullions, railings, etc. — the constructed radius of the roof allows this side of the house to be read as curving. This line is prominent outside and inside, as we'll see next.
The line of the curving roof outside extends inside and is capped by clerestory windows, a nice means of connecting interior and exterior. Note the elliptical glow in the distance ...
That glow comes from a circular oculus over the round kitchen sink. So even in an orthogonal corner of the house, the curving motif is picked up, a reminder of the curve by the pool.
Similar to the previous example, this house has railings following a curve. But in this case they are found on a second-floor roof terrace. Get a closer view, next.
Here we see the curving portion in the foreground, but it's apparent the house is an L-shaped plan with the curve filling in the corner of the "L." This creates that roof terrace and also brings the rooms towards the lake that the house overlooks.
No, this is not a curve, but note how the kink of this plan relates to the curves of the previous two houses. By bending a house, it creates a sense of enclosure and focus; in many cases it helps relate to the site, both immediate and distant.
This last example, the aptly named Radius House, dates back to 1960 and is directly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's curvilinear houses. The curve is used to give maximum exposure to the trees around the house. Next, let's take a look inside.
While the exterior looks out through glass walls to the trees, the interior is focused on a structural column. The wood beams radiating from this spot make the shape of the house clear, as well as one's position within the plan.
More: The L-Shaped House Plan
The U-Shaped House Plan
Living La Vida Linear
More: The L-Shaped House Plan
The U-Shaped House Plan
Living La Vida Linear