Collection by Elaine Moal
Landscape architect Tait Moring installed pavers around the structure’s perimeter and kept the tree cover intact. Photo by: Kimberly Davis
Ample windows cut into the north elevation of the Valentine House, behind which live the architects. The openings reveal lofty double-height spaces inside. The ground-floor garage often serves as a shop for architectural model-making. Photos by: Roger Davies
For 2015, Vipp, the Danish industrial design company known for its iconic trash cans and all-black kitchens, introduces a 592-square-foot prefab unit called Shelter.
At the base of Echo Mountain in Phoenix, a geometric home by Wendell Burnette opens up to the surrounding desert landscape. Photo by Dean Kaufman.
The Boglis love the self-reliance afforded by generating thermal energy and growing a garden on their roof. Photo by John Clark.
To create visual depth, the entrance of the Thorax House’s gray stucco facade is marked by a black aluminum canopy. The firm created custom signage using red Caesarstone quartz, which was cut using a CNC milling machine. “It’s like a suit with a nice tie,” Aliabadi says.
The concrete plinth supports the planters and deck while concealing a foundation of concrete pylons. Both modules were transported to the site from a factory in Utah and installed with a crane.
The house, which is located near Oxford, is clad in cedar. Composite timber and aluminum windows maintain the house’s connection with the countryside, as does the generous patio that wraps around two of its sides.
The paint does more than add visual interest, it contributes to the net-zero home's overall sustainability. On the roof, which features an impressive solar array, Valspar’s Fluropon coating in Surrey Beige heightens solar reflectivity.
“So many houses seem like they’re completely still and heavy,” says Dencity architect Staffan Svenson. Inspired by his client’s role in the airline industry, Svenson relished the chance to create a home that evokes motion and lightness.
The semi-outdoor space extends the living room outward. Inside, a layer of glass sliding doors further facilitate breezes. The occupants can enjoy the sound and smell of rain behind shelter.
The open terrace is fitted with recessed lighting by Foscarini and a StoneTile floor. It houses an outdoor kitchen and dining area, as well as a fireplace and a spa. Inside, it connects to a gym and sauna in the basement.
A pool located just outside the dining space and master bedroom echoes the home's angular forms.
The kitchen offers clear sight lines to the rest of the living space and, through the windows, out into the countryside. Its crisp white and grey cabinetry is topped with white Corian countertops.
The owners shared Turnbull Griffin Haesloop’s dedication to green design, and agreed to modifications—like solar panels and passive heating and cooling elements—to earn the property LEED Platinum certification. The living room’s oversized fan is by Big Ass Fans. Ultra-Tec created the cable system on the stairs and guardrail.
A bright-orange polyurethane coating rescues the dugout from any suggestion of darkness or dinginess.
Like the pavilion holding the public spaces, the structure containing the bedrooms is clad in glass on the interior sides facing the courtyard, allowing a constant connection to the outside. Rodriguez (with dog Lupe) designed the steel stairs leading from the mezzanine-level home office to the master bedroom below. The stairs were fabricated by Austin-based Steel House MFG.
Another peek at the perforated interior windows, which are made from cropped sections of the steel wall in the courtyard.
The residents use either the black steel staircase or a glassed-in elevator by Wittur to get around the house.
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