Architects Michael Chacon and Maria Barmina were faced with numerous limitations from the onset of the design process. The lot, only forty feet wide by 150 feet deep, was further squeezed by six-foot setbacks on either side, reducing the maximum width of the house to a mere twenty-eight feet. Add to that the fact that the site is just 200 feet from a commuter railroad and adjacent to an expressway, and the obstacles to a serene outdoor space become evident. "We had to figure out how to focus activities and design a welcoming and private outdoor environment in this noisy mixed-use neighborhood," Chacon explains.The patio is shielded by a 16-foot-high concrete block privacy wall that also forms a wall of the great room. The wall reduces off-site noise and, with the help of an outdoor fireplace, "wraps" the patio in privacy without fully enclosing it. Opaque portals punched into the top of the wall send sunlight onto the patio. (Reprinted with permission of Gibbs Smith. To purchase your copy of Ultimate Backyard by Michelle Kodis, visit the Gibbs Smith site.)