Cooper, Robertson & Partners Architecture, Urban Design

Tennis Pavilions

New York

The tennis pavilion at left is a simple structure designed to provide shade and to be as open as possible to allow for clear view of play on the court and to let breezes pass through the outdoor room which is also a perfect place to read a book or have tea. The open green lattice-work "walls" are found throughout the gardens on the wooded property and also make up the court's perimeter fence. The pavilion is capped with a large gently curving hip-roof with an open lantern cut into it for increased air circulation.

In the next photo, the sunken tennis court - with natural cedar lattice fencing, octagonal columns, and shingle roofing - mingles comfortably with the stand of tall trees in which it is nestled against a backdrop of twenty-five acres of pristine agricultural preserve. The walls of the sunken court are faced in brick with a bluestone cap and the cedar fencing swoops to a lower height at center court to allow for viewing play and to open vistas to the farmland to the west.

Constructed of all natural cedar, allowed to patina, the tennis pavilion in the third and last photo sits prominently on a knoll overlooking both bay and ocean. The distinctive form, elegant proportions, and refined detailing make it a marker on the land visible from long distances.