Threshold and transition
Pergola
garden terraza azotea plaza parking
It is an open structure of posts and beams with slats on top, over which climbing plants grow or a shading material is stretched.
What it solves
It filters the sun without enclosing the air, giving a dappled, cool shade next to the house. With vines the shade grows over the years and protects the ground and the walls from direct sun.
Today
Orient the slats according to the sun you want to block and choose climbers that do not damage the structure. In timber, separate the posts from the ground with a base to avoid moisture.
Common mistake
Making it so low or so closed that it traps heat, or so sparse that it gives no useful shade at midday.
Tomorrow
A pergola with flowering native climbers gives shade and food to hummingbirds and bees. Over parking lots and schoolyards it is a simple way to lower the heat.
Where it comes from
- 1Ancient Egypt Thebes, Egypt, 18th dynasty
Tomb paintings show vines on pergolas and between columns to shade the garden and the pool. - 2Italian Renaissance Milan, Italy, 1498
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Sala delle Asse as a pergola of the intertwined branches of sixteen mulberry trees. The word comes from the Latin pergula, projecting eave. - 3Japanese garden Japan, Edo period
Wisteria is grown over trellises that form roofs of flowers.
See also
Also in Threshold and transition
Diagrams and texts by LDB Arquitectura. They are shared under the CC BY 4.0 license, which allows them to be used and adapted with credit to the source.