Los Angeles-based firm Anonymous Architects cantilevered side-by-side houses over two steep lots in Los Angeles's Mount Washington neighborhood. Each canyon-side site measures roughly 2,000 square feet and, once zoning and land-use regulations were taken into account, left room for a maximum footprint of just 600 square feet for each building.

However, as the building code did allow small projections outside their envelopes, architect Simon Storey “bumped out” five bay windows in each house, adding an additional 100 square feet in the form of bench seating and sleeping space for guests.

“Building small but sensibly is essentially more sustainable than anything else you can do,” says Storey.