Materials Ideas

Eco-friendly features like solar panels and rainwater catchments keep this retreat's environmental footprint small. Immediately to the right of the entry is the main living space, which features a Jetmaster 700D wood-burning fireplace with a tiled hearth.

Operable timber shutters and screens offer protection from extreme weather. Zoning the house into three distinct masses creates a partly sheltered courtyard to make this year-round blending of the indoors and outdoors possible.

Thanks to a prefab in-law unit, an octogenarian modernist lives independently on a peaceful, verdant site in Northern California.