Modules set off this deck and gazebo

Repeated geometric shapes give a distinctive look to this modular deck, its trellis, and its benches. San Francisco architect Scott Lockard divided the width of the house by eight to derive the dimensions of the 52-inch-square deck modules. Resting on partially buried piers and pressuretreated 4-by-4s, the parquet-pattern deck is at house level for wheelchair access.

Centered along the back of the 35 1/2-footwide deck, a gazebo has an angular roof consisting of four intersecting, same-size gables with 1-by-1 roofing. The origamilike structure sits lightly on four 4-by-4 posts that meet the roof below the valleys of the intersecting gables. At these intersections, horizontal cross beams and sheet-metal gussets tie the roof together. To give the deck a symmetrical look, benches were angled across its two outside corners. The side arms of one turn inward toward the deck; the other's face outward toward the garden. Built with 2-by-6s, each bench has an 18-inch-high base and a 36-inch-high upper section with an angled back rest. Terracing the benches provided height variation and broad, flat areas for displaying container plants.