Pair of pavilions for outdoor cooking, dining, meditation + exercise

Originally falling in love with a modern home built on a flat lot in Atherton, CA, the owners spent years renovating their property to include a small garage expansion and second floor addition. All that remained was to tackle their outdoor space. The private backyard, full of redwoods and other mature trees, marked the perfect space to turn into their dreamy outdoor oasis. Surrounded by a lush landscape, the Atherton Pavilionsconceived by Feldman Architectureadd additional square meters – 450 square feet each, to be exact – for an outdoor kitchen and dining area, as well as a place for meditation and exercise.

The pavilions are strategically placed around the original trees, helping to blend the new structures with nature. The kitchen pavilion and patio space are located near the pool making it the perfect set up for the backyard barbecue.

Both pavilions are clad at the ends with Alaskan yellow cedar slats, for more privacy on the exercise/meditation pavilion and to add a feeling of openness to the kitchen structure. Over time, wood naturally weathers, making it blend in more with its surroundings.

A pathway leads past a new water feature on the way to the second pavilion, which houses the meditation, yoga and exercise studio.

Both pavilions are raised from concrete foundations, making the structures appear to float above the landscape.

group project
Architecture: Feldman Architecture
Contractor: Construction of the design line
Landscaping: Thuilot Associates
Structural engineer: Daedalus Structural Engineering
Civil engineer: Lea & Braze Engineering
Geotechnical engineer: Romig Engineers Inc

Photos by Adam Redhead.

Caroline Williamson is Editorial Director of Design Milk. She has a BFA in photography from SCAD and can usually be found looking for vintage merchandise, doing New York Times crossword puzzles in pen or reworking playlists on Spotify.