The exterior of Connect 4L 1,600 sf 3 bed 3 bath 2 story modern prefab.

In this glass-enclosed master bedroom, a LC4 armchair faces the master bed. The moveable frame adjusts along the base, allowing the sitter to switch from upright to full recline, or lounge at a number of other sitting angles.

“A building can have far greater impact than the space it stands in.”—William Carpenter, architect and resident

The Jorgensen's Menlo Park home is a model of green design with features that are smart for everyone to consider. "Every project is different, but there are some universal things that will apply from project to project," says Feldman about designing a green home. "The first—and most obvious thing—is to always try to build less, to have a smaller house and be smart about how the rooms are designed and oriented so that you can get by with less space. Smart design will lead to a smaller building, but it won't feel smaller."

New zoning allowed for a zero-lot-line structure, but required a public storefront, which Carpenter uses as an art gallery.

Rian and Melissa Jorgensen's 2 Bar House in Menlo Park boasts all the usual green design suspects: energy-efficient lighting, good insulation, renewable material finishes, radiant heat, and the roof is pre-wired for future PV panels. Executed by Feldman Architecture, the house requires only natural lighting during the day which keeps energy costs way down. Still, the most stunning aspect of the green design is the living roof planted with succulents, aloe, viviums, and ice plants. "I'm absolutely glad that we did it," says Melissa. "It turned out so well and I really enjoy sitting up there and taking advantage of it as much as I can. It's very peaceful." Read more about this total remodel here.

One family in Seattle, Washington, looked past a sloping landscape and saw the opportunity to build their dream home. Resembling a modern-day metal treehouse, the Hale and Edmonds residence is nestled within the edges of a wooded park. The house’s exterior of paneled grey is perfectly balanced against the accent of the orange frame, proving that there’s a chance for subtlety with the bright color.

The living room, dining room and kitchen are in one open space. The flooring is bamboo. The cabinetry is a mix of bamboo, walnut, and maple, and was fabricated by City Cabinetmakers out of San Francisco.

The countertops in the kitchen are a mix of quartz surfaces and custom and salvaged stainless steel. "We use the kitchen all of the time, it turned out really nice," says Melissa. "It's very open, certainly one of the central focuses of the house, and is fun for entertaining."

The green roof, wood cladding, and low profile help to integrate the home with its lush, natural surroundings.

Multiple Hytte cabins can be clustered together to create a village layout.

A curving skylight illuminates the minimalist kitchen of a dwelling in Bondi Beach, Australia, that was renovated by Andrew Burges Architects.

The Lais designed their house to be theirs forever. As such, they were able to make design moves that made sense for themselves but that wouldn't have high resale value, like the Japanese-style master bathroom in the middle of the second floor instead of off of the master bedroom. The traditional setup features bath stools from Muji for washing off.

The built-in bench that borders the cantilevered bed features two storage drawers and a hatch that accesses an additional storage compartment.

The crisp white kitchen features appliances built into the cabinetry and marble countertops.

San Francisco’s modernists were faced with the issue of building within a firmly established stylistic tradition—think bay windows and gingerbread. Henry Hill’s 1947 renovation of a 1908 Victorian tucked away on an alley in historic Russian Hill provides a remarkable response to the dilemma.

In an effort to create an abundance of light and air flow throughout the space, the home follows an L-shaped floor plan that wraps around outdoor areas. “We designed several open spaces, each with a different feel: the garden and pool, the terrace, and the back patio,” says Cesarman. “The idea was to reduce the area to the most basic and essential [elements].”

The kitchen and convertible desk area of the Kugelschiff display a luminous, white-painted ceiling and walls, and white ash cabinetry and flooring.

For architect Stephen Chung, the design of his Wayland, Massachusetts, home was all about blending into the natural environment. The first floor is a serene composition of white and wood. The demand for a domestic office space inspired him to build up, adding a second floor for him to "experiment." In a departure from the Cape Cod aesthetic that rules his block, he was able to give the addition a modernist take, while also literally reflecting the existing landscape of the neighborhood. The entire 1,100-square-foot adjunct that encompasses his second story office-studio, master suite, and fort for his two young sons is swathed in mirrored siding and plate-glass windows.

Le Corbusier, Charlotte Perriand, and Pierre Jeanneret designed the LC4 Villa Church lounge for Cassina.

The dwelling is raised on three marine-grade, aluminum-alloy flotation tubes, each with five sealed compartments for extra safety.

Mike Kurokawa and Paul Fishman set out for the beach from their house in the Puna region of Hawaii. A bridge leads from street level to the upper floor of the house, which is situated in a natural depression, or kipuka.

Homeowner Jay Longtin served as the general contractor and performed the majority of the remodel work, aside from the outdoor floors, concrete, and pool, which were done by Architectural Blue.

Bathroom

Marita is an avid reader, clocking about a book a day, so she built this bookcase for her family’s collection and painted it a bright plum shade.

This living/bedroom space showcases neutral tones and shades of white to contrast the continued use of natural, treated wood surfaces.

Shelter No. 2, Broisson Architects, 2008 This prefab made mostly of recycled materials is modest, but not too modest for a spiral staircase. Three levels culminate in a large skylight, which filters natural light all the way down to the ground floor's hydroponic garden.

It Will Get Loud: A Small Speaker That's Big on Sound Home audio companies are managing to make speakers smaller, more portable, and more wallet-friendly while keeping sound quality as robust as their larger (and pricier) brethren. Soundfreaq's co-founder and creative director Matthew Paprocki will demo and deconstruct the award-winning Sound Stack and demo Sound Platform 2 to let you in on the technology behind making big sound come from a tiny package. See this Saturday, June 22, at 12:30 p.m. on the Demonstration Stage.