Breezeway

Breezeways connecting two buildings of the Main Street Complex in Voorhees, New Jersey

A breezeway is an architectural technique involving a connecting roof and floor between two structures. It provides an aesthetic way for natural ventilation and sunlight to enter buildings and/or homes without compromising functionality of a passageway.

History

One of the earliest breezeway designs to be architecturally designed and published was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1900 for the B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee, Illinois. However, breezeway features had come into use in vernacular architecture long before this, as for example with the dogtrot breezeway that originally connected the two elements of a double log cabin on the North American frontier.

LSU Rural Life Museum Dogtrot House

The Dogtrot house rose from a necessity to regulate temperature in the southern United States during the early 1800s. Composed of a single story of log cabin rooms with a central hallway running down the middle.

B. Harley Bradley House

Types

There are three types of breezeways in residential homes: contained, funneled, and offset. A contained breezeway runs beneath a gable roof that separates two areas, commonly a garage and a home. This type occurs more in less formal residential homes because of their practical application and function as a roofed area. A funneled breezeway occurs when a garage and a home are faced towards each other. The accompanying roof allows for some privacy that opens up into a larger backyard or deck area. An offset breezeway grants access to both the garage and house by being an extension of the house that ends up suspending over an exit of the garage area.

Examples

Hawaiian State Capitol Breezeway

The Breezeway House is a example of an instillation in modern architecture. It uses sliding wooden framed glass doors to open up space, creating natural ventilation and cooling throughout the quarters.

The Hawaiian State Capitol is another example of an open air building that utilizes the breezeway technique. Inspired by local architecture, it allows wind, rain and sun to enter the space. The center of the building remains without walls and a ceiling to let the sunlight reach the floor.

A side-deck is the upper deck outboard of any structure such as a coachroof or doghouse, also called a breezeway.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "What Is A Dogtrot House? What You'll Find Inside This Classic, Southern-Style Home". Southern Living. Archived from the original on 2026-04-03. Retrieved 2026-11-12.
  2. ↑ Butt, Aaron (2014-01-08). "Three Ways for Breezeways". Fine Homebuilding. Retrieved 2026-10-24.
  3. ↑ EscapeSF. "House Plans With Breezeway: The Ultimate Guide To Architectural Versatility". EscapeSF. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
  4. ↑ "Hawaii State Capitol". Architectuul. Retrieved 2026-10-23.