Exterior

Here's the rear of the residence.

Located in Los Altos, California, Curt Cline's modern house seeks to respect the neighborhood fabric. By keeping the abode low-slung, using a few simple geometries, and the leaving the facade spare, Cline helped the structure blend in with the 1940s and 1950s structures around it. The materials—board-formed concrete and cedar slats—instill a contemporary California aesthetic.

The defining gesture of a house on the Big Island of Hawaii by architect Craig Steely is a 139-foot-long, four-foot-tall concrete beam spanning the roof.

When renovating a house in McAllen, Texas, for his brother-in-law’s family, architect Luis López designed an overhang with concrete beams that protects the front entrance from the area’s frequent rain. A large front window was inserted to provide views through the house to the backyard.

The home’s front façade features an anodized aluminum and glass curtain wall by Kawneer that's framed by Vic West black corrugated metal panels. The board-formed concrete on the exterior enables passive solar absorption, allowing optimal heat retention on cold winter days. The metal and concrete exterior cladding offers cohesive dialogue with the neighboring industrial sheds and commercial buildings.

Much of the home’s design is based around a large, structural steel trellis supported by the second floor balcony. The top of the trellis is formed by frameless solar panels that provide the family with the majority of their daily energy needs.

Vattefall by Bornstein Lyckefors The title of this Brutalist-esque concept is a play on words, combining the Swedish name for waterfall and the name of the government official who came up with the idea for these 25-square-meter buildings.