Exterior

A private residence in San Francisco, California, designed by Kennerly Architecture and Planning, winner of the New Practices San Francisco 2009 competition.

Now light emanates through the house’s rear window, and through polycarbonate panels concealing the upstairs bedroom.

The dramatic curving glass of the second floor addition quickly recalls the original first floor's rounded edge; streamlined curves such as these are a defining characteristic of Art Moderne architecture. PPG IdeaScapes supplied the curved glass itself.

The home's white stucco exterior is actually a thin layer of stucco spread over a modern EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finishing System) from Dryvit.

Architect Jamie Darnell had a simple plan for his family’s home in Kansas City, Missouri, but the result is anything but plain. Wrapped in corrugated copper, the house has a frontier-cabin quality that’s evolving with age. At first it was as shiny as a penny, but that’s changing. “My house looks like it has a skin disease,” Jamie says. “It’s just oxidizing in a weird way. Eventually it’ll go green. This is just the first stage of the patina.”

Home Renovation Tip: Get an Understanding of What’s Already Around

Bruce Thatcher and Kirsty Leighton behind their London home.

Mary Henning and Ann Wansbrough's renovation of a semidetached cottage enables them to use 75 percent less town water than the average two-person home.

This Santa Monica home is solar-powered. Inspired by Paul Rudolph's Umbrella House, the architects—one of whom worked in Rudolph's New York office—installed solar panels into a steel-beam canopy that shades and powers almost the entire property.

An architect reimagines an outdated brick garage by designing a graceful new family home atop its foundation.

The Stradwick House by Space Division is clad in brick on the base, and a cedar rainscreen covers the top level.

In the top floor study area, a pair of Copenhague Desks by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec for HAY are stationed below a Sax hanging light by Vertigo Bird.

The newly built house, just feet from the water’s edge, occupies the space where a decaying farmhouse once stood.

The roofs of each of the three sections of the home are constructed of zinc and are insulated for added protection.