Casa Piva is discretely sited off a quiet suburban laneway. Its prevailing sense of privacy and intimacy was created through its use of a series of inwardly oriented courtyards surrounding the house, creating a cocoon around its interface with its neighbours. From the street, the house’s white brick, almost windowless façade is powerful and somewhat austere. One enters through a modest door from the laneway, where one encounters a large, enclosed forecourt leading to the building, with trees growing up through openings in the covered walkways.
