Modern Gazebos, long popular in commercial landscaping, are experiencing an upsurge in popularity in residential landscaping as well. 
This can be directly attributed to the growing popularity of contemporary homes and landscape concepts. 

Traditional gazebos are often very elaborate structures. 
They are made of wood, and they often have lattice work walls that make them look almost like miniature houses nestled within the greenery of a garden.  The whole intent of these structures is to create an idyllic architecture whose symmetry blends with that of nature’s balance.

Modern gazebos are built with a different set of principles in mind. 
They are created as icons of a realm where mind rules over organic matter with imposing geometry.  Most are built with iron, aluminum, decorative wrought iron, or even stainless steel. 

Shapes are quite often eclectic, if not outright atypical of what we could conceptualize as a garden structure.  For example, the typical house shape of the traditional garden gazebo can be replaced on a contemporary landscape with a cubic form consisting of four vertical beams and four horizontal beams laid from corner to corner along all four sides. 

This is often done in the center of the yard to give vertical impact to open space. 

Another popular design for a modern gazebo is the canopy design. 
It consists of two supports on either side that criss cross each other in the shape of an “X.”  The roof of the structure is square or rectangular and sits on top of the lateral supports.  This provides a canopy for a shaded seating area. 

The stark angularity of the structure proves an excellent compliment to outdoor art collections that are characterized by challenging and abstract motifs.

Other models can be built with stainless steel cables. 
The basic vertical supports are erected, and a roof is constructed either in the shape of a dome, a conical rising form, or a quadrilateral surface.  Steel cables are then suspended from the corners and run downward and outward into the landscape below. 

This is an ideal way of complimenting contemporary garden designs where glass and steel form the bulk of garden décor. 
In fact, by leaving the roof open to the sun, a cable suspension design becomes both a covering and a focal point for the entire garden—letting in sufficient sunlight for plant life to survive, but imposing a deliberately human presence over the entirety of the scene.

Commercial applications for modern gazebo design offer just as many landscape architecture opportunities. 
Businesses often prefer a modern or contemporary landscape for several reasons.  It communicates a sense of mental discipline to employees, and it is less expensive to maintain on an annual basis.

The challenge that businesses face in this scenario is too much open space. 
Once you build sidewalks, a few atriums, and a pond in the middle of the campus, what else do they do with the remaining open space, which can often be several acres?

A modern gazebo can be erected in the center of such an open space and create a secondary focal point of interest. 
It will add vertical impact to the terrain and compliment commercial buildings on all sides.  The sense of convergence can then be magnified by walkways that lead to its shaded interior where employees can sit on break and admire the view of the surrounding architecture and landscape design from a prime vantage point.