Is it or isn’t it by the modern master? We figured it out after architects Erik Amir and Dora Chi pulled off a reverent revamp.
The clients—a family of five with three children in college—wanted to create an “urban cabin” that embraces the tranquil forested site on the shores of Lake Minnetonka. The solution was to use vast expanses of glass to dissolve the boundaries between inside and out.
"This home is intended as both a place of refuge and of play," says Emily Summers Design Associates.
Photovoltaics panels were installed at the pool house.
At the entry, Kurth created a glassed alcove for an exterior sculpture using Series 600 Window Walls from Western Window Systems.
The dwelling is located on the hill’s brow, so it nestles into the slope just below a prominent cluster of quaking aspens where a resident bull moose lives. “The lot is located in a sea of grass-covered hills,” says architect Hunter Gundersen. “Unlike much of the Rocky Mountains it isn’t a craggy landscape full of cliffs, ravines, and broken rock faces. Instead, it’s soft and rolling, like grassy ocean swells with an occasional rock-outcropping ship or tree-stand island. Like the outcroppings, the structure is low lying, dark, and embedded into the grass and sage—at home on the soft surface, but not apologetic nor blending in.”
The home takes the form of two volumes that slide past each other. The front door leads directly to the center of the home, which connects to the both the entrance courtyard and the rear pool area, dissolving the boundaries between interior and exterior space.
On the rare occasion that the weather is chilly, an expansive concrete fireplace can warm up the living area.
The backyard is perfectly suited for summer entertaining.
The couple became inspired after touring the John Lautner–designed Sheats Goldstein House in L.A., and decided to use a microtopping coat on the floors. "We spent a long time testing samples with our concrete vendor,
A fire pit between two wings of the home encourages outdoor living.
The west-facing outdoor patio is protected by deep roof overhangs lined with southern yellow pine.
The matte-black exterior and floor-to-ceiling glass of Villa Överby sit flush on limestone slabs.
The Stahl House has been featured in numerous movies and photoshoots and was immortalized by photographer Julius Shulman.
A path through the front yard's native plantings leads visitors to the front door.
The prefab can be customized and configured to the client’s liking, and it can even be outfitted with renewable energy systems such as rooftop solar panels.
The essence of this 1950s kitchen was recreated with modern-day appliances and additional counter space.
Front View
The weeHouse exteriors are clad in corrugated Cor-Ten, but with a custom pattern of folds to create an organic randomness. The foundations were designed with a shallow recess around the top to make the modules look like they’re hovering. After they bought the property in early 2014, the Siegels camped there for two summers while they saved up money and planned a permanent structure. In his research, BJ came across this design, a customizable prefab house by Alchemy Architects. "Of all the things that I found, I was drawn to that one because it was absolutely the simplest and cleanest," he says.
The open-plan living room features a wall of glass with sliding doors that lead out to a pool.
A modest, gabled 1965 hut on the outskirts of Guatemala City was transformed into an expansive 4,467-square-foot getaway. Blurring the indoors and out, architect Alejandro Paz adhered to the original architectural elements while adding modernized touches. The roof maintains the same angle as the original hut, but reversed, while new modules give the space a new identity. With floor-to-ceiling glazing, the home allows for the residents to take in the Guatemalan forest from all angles.
The firm’s goal was not to erase the existing home, but to "strengthen the initial intent of the architecture," says StudioFour director Sarah Henry. "The existing external brick language was identified as a strength to the original design. We wanted to build on this strength and let the architectural language bleed inside to inform the interiors." The external brickwork has been rendered with a tinted sand render, color-matched to Porter’s Paints ‘River Stone.’
'73 BMW 2002
Wild Lilac is set on the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, far removed from the glitz of Los Angeles. LaHabra Santa Barbara Mission Finish stucco was used for the exterior to protect the home from strong sun.
Beyond the large pedestrian gate, “which is really the home’s front door,” says Gottschalk, “the house begins to reveal its strong indoor and outdoor relationship. Blurring the boundary between the two is a key design element.”
The doors mix wood and glass to allow for easy indoor/outdoor living, while the open floor plan keeps things airy.
Steve Jocz and Jessy Moss make the case that their 1960s home is a forgotten William F. Cody design.
Designed in the early 1950s by architect Roscoe Hemenway for the inventor of the famous View–Master toy, this ranch house was reimagined by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson for enhanced views, light, and indoor/outdoor connection.
Klopf Architecture updated this Eichler with a radiant floor heating system, re-stained paneling, and a new office/guest room filled with Eichler hallmarks like dark bronze door handles.
After much research, the original buff stone pictured was discovered at a quarry in Utah, which had since closed but reopened for the material sourcing for this project, the restoration of Richard Neutra's Kaufmann House. A mason worked there for a year and a half to accurately restore stone, chiseling and cutting blocks precisely in place to create a pleasing mosaic. Tops and bottoms of the stones were cut smooth to sit in horizontal position, allowing the sides and faces to be more organic as Richard Neutra intended.
Fortunately, the damaged exterior and dismally dark 1970s interior didn’t scare away NMT Financial, who were captivated by the home wrapped around a massive oak tree embedded into the inner courtyard. Oakland-based See Arch was hired to restore the home’s modernist character while updating the dwelling to contemporary standards.
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